Where to See Asger Jorn

Asger Jorn's work has been exhibited widely. In Europe, shows have occurred in cities such as Hannover, Venice, Paris, Munich, Basel, Amsterdam, Bergen, Gothenburg, Rotterdam, London, Turin, Bern, and Silkeborg. Outside Europe, his work has been shown in Seattle and New York. Jorn was born in Vejrum, Jutland, Denmark, in 1914^[1]. He spent time in Paris during the 1930s, studying at Léger's Académie Contemporaine. Later, he lived in Silkeborg, Denmark, and Albisola, Italy. Jorn was involved with the COBRA^[1] movement (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam), which advocated complete freedom of expression, and later with the Situationist International. His artistic output included painting, collage, book illustration, prints, drawings, ceramics, and sculpture. The Asger Jorn Foundation, established in 1974, maintains offices in Norway, Denmark, and England. The Foundation authenticates works attributed to Jorn and keeps records of works that have surfaced since the publication of his catalogue raisonné. The Silkeborg Kunstmuseum holds a significant collection of Jorn's work.

Asger Jorn (1914^[1]-1973^[1]) was a Danish^[1] artist involved in painting, collage, book illustration, prints, drawings, ceramics, and sculpture. He was part of the COBRA^[1] movement (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam), which began around 1948^[1]. COBRA artists valued complete freedom of expression, with an emphasis on colour. Jorn edited COBRA monographs before leaving the group. In 1954, Jorn moved to Albisola, Italy, and participated in a continuation of COBRA called Mouvement International pour un Bauhaus Imaginiste. From 1957 to 1961, he participated in the Situationist International movement. In the early 1960s, Jorn travelled around Europe, researching Scandinavian art from prehistoric times to the early Middle Ages. The Silkeborg Kunstmuseum houses approximately 15,000 of his original photographic negatives and prints from this project. The Asger Jorn Foundation authenticates work attributed to Jorn and maintains records of his work.

Asger Jorn (1914^[1]-1973^[1]) was a Danish^[1] artist whose work remains relevant due to his experimental approach and social critique. He studied at Léger's Académie Contemporaine in Paris in 1936^[1]. Jorn was a member of the COBRA^[1] movement, founded in 1948 by artists from Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam. COBRA advocated for complete freedom of expression, with an emphasis on colour and brushwork. Jorn edited the Bibliotheque Cobra monographs before leaving the group. His practice spanned painting, collage, book illustration, prints, drawings, ceramics, and sculpture. Jorn also participated in the Situationist International from 1957 to 1961. His art often incorporated figures and faces, integrated with their surroundings through colour and line. Jorn's method involved painting on canvases laid on the ground. His interest in folk art led him to include bearded figures in his work, which he saw as symbols of popular and medieval culture. Jorn's work provides an ironic critique of the artist's gesture. He refused to exhibit in the United States because he would have to sign a paper certifying that he was not a Communist.

Asger Jorn was a prolific artist who worked with many media. His practice included painting, collage, book illustration, prints, drawings, ceramics, and sculpture. He also accepted commissions for murals. In 1953^[1], Jorn began working extensively in ceramics. Jorn's paintings often feature thick applications of pigment, with line incised through the layered paint. He sometimes dripped paint from perforated tins, anticipating pointillism. By the mid-1950s, he would lay a canvas on a table or the ground while painting. He experimented with Jackson Pollock's drip method as early as 1953. Jorn also used collage, frottage, and colour sprayed with an airbrush. He floated colour on water, lifting it onto paper. In his early years, Jorn made sketches in India ink with ruler and compass. These explored planes, basic forms, and tensions between straight and curved lines. He sometimes tinted a canvas to create a coloured base, applying linear shapes or coloured outlines. He also used Dali's overlay technique to dissolve shapes in his drawings.

Asger Jorn (1914^[1]-1973^[1]) was a Danish^[1] artist whose work touched several movements. He studied at Léger's Académie Contemporaine in Paris in 1936^[1]. During the Second World War, he remained in Denmark and contributed to the magazine Helhesten. Jorn was a founder of the COBRA^[1] movement in 1948, along with Appel, Constant, Corneille, Dotremont, and Noiret. COBRA's doctrine emphasised complete freedom of expression, with importance given to colour and brushwork. Later, Jorn participated in the Mouvement International pour un Bauhaus Imaginiste. He was also involved with the Situationist International from 1957 to 1961. His paintings from around 1948 feature faces and figures that have been compared to James Ensor, Dubuffet, and Klee. Jorn's method involved painting on canvases laid on a table or the ground. Some critics characterise Cobra art as a form of Expressionism. Jorn's work includes painting, collage, book illustration, prints, drawings, ceramics, and sculpture.

Asger Jorn's artistic development involved several influences. Early on, he was inspired by the expressionistic style of the painter Martin Kaalund-Jorgensen, from whom he learned simplification of form and concentration of colour. Jorn's early works, around 1933^[1], included portraits and politico-satirical engravings. In 1936, Jorn went to Paris and studied with Fernand Leger. He found Leger's emphasis on clarity and even application of colour a contrast to the expressionism he knew. Jorn assisted Leger on Le transport des forces in 1937, and also worked with Le Corbusier at the Paris World's Fair. During the war, Jorn remained in Denmark and created paintings reflecting the influence of James Ensor, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Joan Miro. He contributed to the magazine Helhesten. Later, Jorn was a founder of the COBRA^[1] movement in 1948, which advocated complete freedom of expression. His work from about 1948 shows faces and figures reminiscent of Ensor, as well as Jean Dubuffet and Klee.

Asger Jorn (born Asger Oluf Jørgensen in 1914^[1]) was a Danish^[1] artist known for his association with the COBRA^[1] art movement (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam). The group, founded in 1948^[1], advocated complete freedom of expression, with an emphasis on colour and brushwork. Jorn's work included painting, collage, book illustration, prints, drawings, ceramics, and sculpture. He participated in the Situationist International movement from 1957 to 1961. Jorn died in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1973^[1]. Although it is difficult to name one single 'most famous work', one piece that marked a breakthrough in his career was *Lettre a mon fils*. It was exhibited at the 1958 *50 ans d'art moderne* show in Brussels. Another noted work is *Green Ballet* (1960), an oil on canvas. It uses bright colours and sweeping movements, and it suggests floating figures across the canvas. In 1959, Jorn began his *Modifications* series, overpainting sentimental old canvases bought in junk shops.

Asger Jorn, born in Denmark as Asger Oluf Jørgensen, is associated with several artistic movements. He studied at Léger's Académie Contemporaine in Paris in 1936^[1]. Later, during the Second World War, he remained in Denmark; his paintings from this period show the influence of artists such as Ensor, Kandinsky, Klee, and Miró. Around 1948, Jorn became one of the founders of the COBRA^[1] movement (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam), along with artists such as Appel, Constant, Corneille, Dotremont, and Noiret. COBRA's central idea was complete freedom of expression, with an emphasis on colour and brushwork. Jorn edited monographs for the group's Bibliotheque Cobra. After leaving COBRA, Jorn participated in the Mouvement International pour un Bauhaus Imaginiste. From 1957 to 1961, he was also involved with the Situationist International. Some critics have placed Jorn's work within the broader category of Informel abstraction. His association with the Situationist International also reflects a leftist critique of art institutions and a rejection of traditional artistic roles.