4.1.-28.8.2022
THE NORDIC VOICES OF MODERNISM
Permanent exhibition
4.1.-28.8.2022
Permanent exhibition
Museum Jorn has in its possession a major collection of symbolist and expressionist Danish art from the late nineteenth century until the 1930s. Asger Jorn was very interested in the art of this period, which provided both the historical background and inspiration for his own art. Consequently, he decided that this specific area was to be a significant foundation stone in the museum’s collection profile.
The museum’s collection of classic modern art comprises significant works by some of the country’s most influential symbolists. Amongst those works by the two art nouveau artists Johannes Holbek (1872—1903) and Niels Hansen Jacobsen (1861—1942). Early Danish expressionism is represented by artists including Julius Paulsen (1860—1932), Oluf Hartmann (1879—1910), Aksel Jørgensen (1883—1957), Martin Kaalund-Jørgensen (1889—1952) and Jens Adolf Jerichau (1890—1916).
The selection of works is themed rather than based on specific stylistic features. Romantically inspired depictions of melancholic landscapes next to sombre figural pictures packed with quotes from both ancient Nordic sagas and antique mythologies, suspended in dramatic tension between life and death.
By juxtaposing this kind of psychologising Scandinavian landscape and figural painting, the exhibition strives to give the viewer an impression of a distinct quality, which Jorn considered the most important feature of the artists represented: their ability to produce an aesthetic that does not deny its historical background, but still manages to preserve its topicality and emotional clout to the encounter with the viewer.