KAFKA, JORN & BARCELÓ

To mark the 100th anniversary of Kafka’s passing, Jorn’s translations of Kafka’s texts are now collected and published together with a series of original watercolors by Spanish artist, Miquel Barceló. To mark the publication, the series of watercolors is exhibited alongside Jorn’s handwritten translations.

Inside a notebook in Museum Jorn’s archive hides a literary treasure that contains important knowledge about the way in which Asger Jorn (1914-1973) drew inspiration from literature. Within a small booklet, a young Jorn translated by hand texts by the modernist writer, Franz Kafka (1883-1924). In 1939, Jorn was introduced to one of Kafka’s works from 1926, The Castle, by request of his teacher, artist Fernand Léger (1881-1955).

Kafka was of decisive importance to Jorn, who was the first translator of Kafka’s texts into Danish and introduced them in the Nordic region by publishing some of the texts in the journal, Helhesten, in 1941-42. Jorn’s fascination with Kafka proved ahead of his time, yet his translations of Kafka went unnoticed. It was not until 20 years after Jorn’s publications in Helhesten that Kafka’s works were officially translated into Danish and gained widespread recognition. Kafka has since been recognized as one of the most important European writers of the 20th century.

Spanish artist, Miquel Barceló (b. 1957) illustrates Jorn’s translations with a series of 41 watercolors made especially for this publication. Just like Jorn, Barceló is deeply fascinated with the writings of Kafka – especially the texts about Menneskedyret (The Human Animal), which was the title of Barceló’s solo exhibition at Museum Jorn in autumn 2023. Menneskedyret is also the title of a text that Asger Jorn wrote about Kafka, which also features in the publication – approximately 85 years after Jorn wrote it in his notebook.

The publication facilitates a unique, posthumous dialogue between Barceló and Jorn about Kafka’s iconic literary works. Museum Jorn is proud to present this material and celebrates the publication with a display of Barceló’s original works together with one of Jorn’s handwritten texts.

Barceló’s impressive series of colourful and figurative watercolours testify to the artist’s in-depth knowledge of Kafka and Jorn, which permeates each of the works and exemplifies a playful universe that inspires to move between the different layers of text, image and colour.

The publication and exhibition are generously supported by Statens Kunstfond, Politiken-Fonden, and Lektor Peer Rander Amundsens Legat.

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