Marcus Jansen was born in Manhattan, New York City in 1968

Considered by Art Historians as a leader in modern expressionism, from a child on Jansen painted on surfaces such as canvas, newspapers and anything else he could find. He attended the Berufsfaschule fuer Gestaltung/Design in 1985 in Mönchengladbach, Germany and traveled widely throughout Western Europe at an early age.

In 1990 he joined the US Army being deployed with the 18th Airborne Corps to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain during Desert Storm.

 After moving to Germany as a child, he traveled back to New York in 1982 where he was introduced to legendary Graffiti writers where he learned fast and combined influences from cubism, abstract expressionism and graffiti art to create a vibrant, iconic style that The New York Times describes: "surrealistic asphalt jungles." 

In 2006, Jansen was written about in Jansen's first book by noted Art Historian Jerome A. Donson who authored and curated exhibitions with many famous action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns and Franz Kline, referring to Jansen as the "innovator of Modern Expressionism"

In 2011, Jansen was selected by Absolut Vodka for "Absolut Blank", alongside Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Keith Haring who were also previously selected for Absolut Vodka's campaigns in the past. Jansen's expressionistic sensibility has since leant itself to many collaborations with such brands as Warner Brothers, Ford Motor Company and FIFA World Cup™.