Danish CoBrA; Asger Jorn & Carl-Henning Pedersen
Installation views in Cabinet
Photos: Andrea Rossetti

 

Asger Jorn (1914-1973)
Asger Jorn was one of the greatest post-war Danish artists whose work has made a mark on the danish as well as the international art world. Born as Asger Oluf Jørgensen in Vejrum, in the western part of Jutland, to teacher parents, Jorn was co-founder of both the avant-garde CoBrA group and later the Situationist International. Best known for his paintings, lithographs, and etchings, where he experimented with spontaneous and semi-figurative representation.

 

Carl-Henning Pedersen (1913-2007)
A key member in CoBrA, Pedersen was born in Copenhagen to a working-class family and was one of the leading Danish post-war artists. He was known as the “Danish Chagall”. Inspired by Surrealism, Pedersen and his friend Asger Jorn were the originators of “Spontaneism” which led to the birth of CoBrA.

 

CoBrA (1948-1951)
Formed at Café Notre-Dame in Paris, in 1948, CoBrA was a highly influential art group which only existed for three years. Some still consider it the last major avant-garde movement of the last century and the catalyser behind European abstract expressionism.

The acronym was coined by Christian Dotremont to mean ‘Co’ for Copenhagen, ‘Br’ for Brussels and ‘A’ for Amsterdam. Those were in turn the cities which were the homes to the participating artists – or their nearest European capital city.

However short lived, the international achievements of the group were quite remarkable. A series of collaborations between its members called ‘Peintures-Mot’ led to two large international exhibitions. The first of which was held at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, November 1949, the other at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Liège in 1951. After disbanding the group, CoBrA members continued to be associated with the various artists who took part in the CoBrA initiative.

 

Bar Am is very pleased to present Danish CoBrA; Asger Jorn & Carl-Henning Pedersen in Cabinet.

 

Asger Jorn, The Young Old Men, 1950

 

Asger Jorn, Tankeflugt / Soaring Thoughts, 1956

 

Asger Jorn, Advanced Anti Geometric Space, 1962

 

Carl-Henning Pedersen, Påske / Easter, 1987

 

Carl-Henning Pedersen, Orange fugl og timeglas / Orange Bird and Hourglas, 1973