JORN/KIRKEBY

In the exhibition JORN/KIRKEBY, the public will, for the first time, witness a painterly encounter between two of Denmark’s most significant artists, who have each, in their own way, left their mark on the Danish art scene.

The exhibition focuses on the similarities and differences between the two artists in their approach to painting and to the practice of being a painter. By juxtaposing works by Asger Jorn (1914–1973) and Per Kirkeby (1938–2018) under themes such as free-spirited painting, classicism, erotic drive, landscape and self-portraiture, their individual and unique approaches to painting will be brought into sharper focus – from Jorn’s fierce, untamed abstractions to Kirkeby’s contemplative and more controlled works.

‘We hope that visitors will enjoy this meeting of masters, which offers an insight into how painting as a form of expression remains a source of inspiration, fascination and reflection for both artists and the public,’ says museum director Erlend G. Høyersten, ARoS.

Focus on painting

The exhibition focuses primarily on painting, and more than 80 works will be on display from the ARoS art collection and from Danish and international museums, galleries and private collections. Several of the works have not previously been shown in a museum context.

- Asger Jorn and Per Kirkeby were committed to painting, and in their artistic practice both were rooted in wider artistic communities that helped to shape their work. They were exponents of Scandinavian Expressionism, but in their younger years they were also representatives of European avant-garde movements, and they helped to put Northern Europe in the spotlight as a centre for artistic debate and innovation. Jorn in the 1930s and 1940s and Kirkeby in the 1960s, says exhibition curator and museum curator Jeanett Stampe of ARoS.

At first glance, the painterly similarities may be difficult to spot. Jorn’s art is fierce and untamed, and his paintings are richly coloured and often on a smaller scale. Kirkeby’s works are contemplative, intellectual and controlled abstractions with painterly pauses, often unfolding across enormous canvases. Yet Jorn and Kirkeby share more in common than one might think. Among other things, they have worked with a wide range of artistic forms of expression, and both kept returning to painting. Their visual language lies at the intersection of the abstract and the figurative, and both have been preoccupied with the painterly process, experiments with materials and specific themes.

The father figure Kirkeby never met

Jorn and Kirkeby never met, yet there is nevertheless a certain kinship between the two artists. In a column in *Kristeligt Dagblad* from September 2018, Per Kirkeby is quoted as saying:

‘I begin where Jorn left off.’ This quote underlines the great interest Per Kirkeby had in Asger Jorn’s art.

At the same time, one can sense a generational rebellion in the exhibition. For Kirkeby, the early 1960s represented a break with tradition and the painterly language of earlier times, enabling him to find his own footing. This led to a break with his painterly mentor, Asger Jorn. Jorn’s position on the art scene was, in many ways, a shadow that not only Kirkeby had to work his way out of, but which the entire generation of artists who followed immediately after Jorn had to come to terms with. In the same way, in his younger years, Jorn had to come to terms with and work his way out of the shadow cast by some of the powerful artistic forces of his time.

Catalogue

To accompany the exhibition, ARoS is publishing a comprehensive catalogue which, like the exhibition, is organised around six themes. Selected writers with extensive knowledge of the two artists’ works have been invited to delve deeper into each theme. The contributors are historian of ideas and writer Lars Morell, museum curator and curator of the exhibition Jeanett Stampe, visual artist and writer Erik Steffensen, art historian, PhD and museum curator Teresa Østergaard Pedersen; art historian and exhibition curator Dorte Kirkeby Andersen; and museum curator Jakob Vengberg Sevel.

The exhibition has been developed in close collaboration with the historian of ideas Lars Morell, who has an in-depth knowledge of both Asger Jorn and Per Kirkeby and has written several books on the two artists.

The exhibition has been made possible with support from:

• Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik’s Foundation

• The AKO Foundation

• The Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation

• The Spar Nord Foundation

• The Knud Højgaard Foundation

• The C.A.C. Foundation

• The STIBO Foundation

• The Axel Muusfeldt Foundation

• The Hoffmann and Husman Foundation

• The Aarhus Stiftstidende Fund

Press photos may be downloaded free of charge via Dropbox, provided credit is given.

For further information, please contact:

ARoS Press and Communications
presse@aros.dk
+45 61904942

Asger Jorn, Femelle interplanetaire, 1953 Oil on canvas, 100.8 x 81.5 cm Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg. Photo: Niels Fabæk