Museum Jorn, Silkeborg
Encyclopedia
Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, is a Danish
Art museum located in beautiful surroundings by Gudenåen in Silkeborg
, Denmark
.
Museum Jorn holds the collections that were developed by Asger Jorn
from the early 1950s until his death in 1973, since when they have doubled in extent.
In consequence, the museum is not only home to the most comprehensive collection of Jorn’s own works but also holds thousands of paintings, sculptures and works on paper by other artists – members of Cobra
and older international artists who inspired Jorn or were kindred artistic spirits including, among others, Max Ernst
, Francis Picabia
, Fernand Léger
and Man Ray
.
In 1961 the museum opened an exhibition at the premises of a school building in Silkeborg, and in 1965 the independent institution Silkeborg Museum of Art was founded. In 1973 the museum took over the whole school building, where the museum was housed until 1982.
At Asger Jorn's birthday, the third of March, 1982, Silkeborg Museum of Art moved to a newly built complex of buildings on an 8,000 m2 site near the river Gudenåen. The building was designed by the architect Niels Frithiof Truelsen and was inspired by Constantin Brâncuşi
's studio in front of Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Because of the museum's large international collection, own acquisitions, and artists’ and collectors' donations the premises were inadequate. This resulted in an extension that was inaugurated in 1998. The extension was also designed by Niels Frithiof Truelsen. Thereby, the exhibition area was increased to 3,200 m2 along with a daylight free gallery in the basement for exhibition of works on paper.
In 2010 the museum underwent a major renovation and changed its name to Museum Jorn, Silkeborg. A modern Cobra Forum was designed so that visitors now can immerse themselves in the museum's extensive research material on and by Asger Jorn in electronic media and in books, etc.
With the reopening and change of name it is highlighted that the museum will continue to challenge its current role. The many new initiatives are part of the strategy to respond to Jorn's vision for the museum and to promote the artist who is considered to be Denmark's most significant in the 20th century.
The museum's own collection begins around 1900 with work groups of Johannes Holbek, Julius Paulsen, Albert Gottschalk
and from the following decades Jens Adolf Jerichau
and Aksel Jørgensen. From the second half of the 20th century works of Sonja Ferlov, Erik Ortvad
, Frank Rubin, Paul Gernes, Per Kirkeby
and Richard Winther
are shown. The collection also contains works by artists from Eastern Europe.
Two large ceramic walls donated by Jean Dubuffet
and Pierre Alechinsky
meet the visitors in the museum's courtyard, where also Erik Nyholm's ceramic blue stones light up.
Inside you can see some of the artists who inspired Jorn: Max Ernst
, Francis Picabia
, Le Corbusier
, Fernand Léger
, Man Ray
. The Danish art is represented by Ejler Bille
, Bjerke Petersen, Carl-Henning Pedersen
, Egill Jacobsen, Henry Heerup
and Wilhelm Freddie
. From Cobra
group the following can be mentioned (besides Asger Jorn
): Pierre Alechinsky
, Karel Appel
, Constant Nieuwenhuis, Reinhoud D'Haese, Theo Wolvecamp. And from the 1950s: Enrico Baj
, Jean Dubuffet
, Pinot Gallizio, Wifredo Lam
, Matta
, Henri Michaux
, Walasse Ting
, Pierre Wemaëre and Group SPUR, among others.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Art museum located in beautiful surroundings by Gudenåen in Silkeborg
Silkeborg
Silkeborg is a city in central Denmark. Located in Silkeborg municipality in Jutland, the city has a population of 42,724 . The development of Silkeborg as a modern city may be traced to the foundation of the paper mill by Michael Drewsen on the Gudenaa in 1844...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Museum Jorn holds the collections that were developed by Asger Jorn
Asger Jorn
Asger Oluf Jorn was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International...
from the early 1950s until his death in 1973, since when they have doubled in extent.
In consequence, the museum is not only home to the most comprehensive collection of Jorn’s own works but also holds thousands of paintings, sculptures and works on paper by other artists – members of Cobra
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
and older international artists who inspired Jorn or were kindred artistic spirits including, among others, Max Ernst
Max Ernst
Max Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.-Early life:...
, Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia was a French painter, poet, and typographist, associated with both the Dada and Surrealist art movements.- Early life :...
, Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
and Man Ray
Man Ray
Man Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
.
History and architecture
Museum Jorn's history dates back to 1940 when a museum association of Silkeborg and Neighbourhood made its first acquisitions of art. In 1951, a single room in the local history museum in Silkeborg (Silkeborg Museum) was converted to hold modern art.In 1961 the museum opened an exhibition at the premises of a school building in Silkeborg, and in 1965 the independent institution Silkeborg Museum of Art was founded. In 1973 the museum took over the whole school building, where the museum was housed until 1982.
At Asger Jorn's birthday, the third of March, 1982, Silkeborg Museum of Art moved to a newly built complex of buildings on an 8,000 m2 site near the river Gudenåen. The building was designed by the architect Niels Frithiof Truelsen and was inspired by Constantin Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
's studio in front of Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Because of the museum's large international collection, own acquisitions, and artists’ and collectors' donations the premises were inadequate. This resulted in an extension that was inaugurated in 1998. The extension was also designed by Niels Frithiof Truelsen. Thereby, the exhibition area was increased to 3,200 m2 along with a daylight free gallery in the basement for exhibition of works on paper.
In 2010 the museum underwent a major renovation and changed its name to Museum Jorn, Silkeborg. A modern Cobra Forum was designed so that visitors now can immerse themselves in the museum's extensive research material on and by Asger Jorn in electronic media and in books, etc.
With the reopening and change of name it is highlighted that the museum will continue to challenge its current role. The many new initiatives are part of the strategy to respond to Jorn's vision for the museum and to promote the artist who is considered to be Denmark's most significant in the 20th century.
Collections
Museum Jorn houses over 12,000 works by 450 different artists from around the world. By Jorn is seen some 100 paintings, and as many ceramic works, graphics and drawings. Two of his major works, the painting Stalingrad, and the fourteen-meter-long tapestryThe Long Journey, which was created in collaboration with Pierre Wemaëre, are centrally located in the museum.The museum's own collection begins around 1900 with work groups of Johannes Holbek, Julius Paulsen, Albert Gottschalk
Albert Gottschalk
Albert Gottschalk was a Danish painter. He had a close connection, personally and artisticly, to the poets Johannes Jørgensen, Viggo Stuckenberg and Sophus Claussen.-Biography:...
and from the following decades Jens Adolf Jerichau
Jens Adolf Jerichau
Emil Jens Baumann Adolf Jerichau was a Danish sculptor. He belonged to the generation immediately after Bertel Thorvaldsen, for whom he worked briefly in Tome, but gradually moved away from the static Neoclassicism he inherited from him and towards a more dynamic and realistic style.He was a...
and Aksel Jørgensen. From the second half of the 20th century works of Sonja Ferlov, Erik Ortvad
Erik Ortvad
Erik Ortvad was a painter and a creator of many drawings. He debuted as a painter in 1935. He is mostly known for colorful surrealistic paintings....
, Frank Rubin, Paul Gernes, Per Kirkeby
Per Kirkeby
Per Kirkeby is a Danish painter, poet, filmmaker and sculptor.-Biography:1962 Studies at the Experimental Art School in Copenhagen; works in the School on painting, graphic arts, 8 millimeter films and performance pieces...
and Richard Winther
Richard Winther
Richard Winther was considered one of the major Danish artists of the 20th century. He explored the arts extensively and his prolific career focused mainly on painting, graphics, photography and sculpture...
are shown. The collection also contains works by artists from Eastern Europe.
Two large ceramic walls donated by Jean Dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making.-Life and work:Dubuffet was...
and Pierre Alechinsky
Pierre Alechinsky
Pierre Alechinsky is a Belgian artist. He has lived and worked in France since 1951. His work is related to Tachisme, Abstract expressionism, and Lyrical Abstraction.Alechinsky was born in Brussels...
meet the visitors in the museum's courtyard, where also Erik Nyholm's ceramic blue stones light up.
Inside you can see some of the artists who inspired Jorn: Max Ernst
Max Ernst
Max Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.-Early life:...
, Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia was a French painter, poet, and typographist, associated with both the Dada and Surrealist art movements.- Early life :...
, Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, Fernand Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
, Man Ray
Man Ray
Man Ray , born Emmanuel Radnitzky, was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal...
. The Danish art is represented by Ejler Bille
Ejler Bille
Ejler Bille was a Danish artist. He studied at the Kunsthåndværkerskolen in Copenhagen, with Bizzie Høyer 1930-32 and the Royal Danish Academy of Art, 1933. In 1934 he joined Linien, Corner in 1940 and CoBrA in 1949. He had concentrated on small sculptures, but moved into painting after joining...
, Bjerke Petersen, Carl-Henning Pedersen
Carl-Henning Pedersen
Carl-Henning Pedersen was a Danish painter and a key member of the COBRA movement. He was known as the "Scandinavian Chagall", and was one of the leading Danish artists of the second half of the 20th century....
, Egill Jacobsen, Henry Heerup
Henry Heerup
Henry Heerup was a painter and sculptor born in Frederiksberg, Denmark.He studied painting under Axel Jørgensen and Einar Nielsen at the Royal Danish Academy of Art. He also studied sculpture there under Einar Utzon-Frank. He painted The Old Oak in Wolfvalley in 1924. This was his first oil...
and Wilhelm Freddie
Wilhelm Freddie
Wilhelm Frederik Christian Carlsen Freddie was a Danish painter and sculptor. Initially working along a somewhat abstract line, he soon turned towards a more realistic surrealism, only to later return to abstract art...
. From Cobra
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
group the following can be mentioned (besides Asger Jorn
Asger Jorn
Asger Oluf Jorn was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International...
): Pierre Alechinsky
Pierre Alechinsky
Pierre Alechinsky is a Belgian artist. He has lived and worked in France since 1951. His work is related to Tachisme, Abstract expressionism, and Lyrical Abstraction.Alechinsky was born in Brussels...
, Karel Appel
Karel Appel
Christiaan Karel Appel was a Dutch painter, sculptor, and poet. He started painting at the age of fourteen and studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam in the 1940s...
, Constant Nieuwenhuis, Reinhoud D'Haese, Theo Wolvecamp. And from the 1950s: Enrico Baj
Enrico Baj
Enrico Baj was an Italian artist and writer on art. Many of his works show an obsession with nuclear war. He created prints, sculptures but especially collage. He was close to the surrealist and dada movements, and was later associatied with CoBrA. As an author he has been described as a leading...
, Jean Dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making.-Life and work:Dubuffet was...
, Pinot Gallizio, Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla , better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture...
, Matta
Matta
Matta may refer to:*Mata, a moshav in Israel also spelt Matta*Matta - a Union Council of Kasur District, Pakistan.*Matta, a city in Swat, NWFP Pakistan, the main centre of TNSM*Matta, a chief of Siwistan in the 7th century A.D....
, Henri Michaux
Henri Michaux
Henri Michaux was a highly idiosyncratic Belgian-born poet, writer, and painter who wrote in French. He later took French citizenship. Michaux is best known for his esoteric books written in a highly accessible style, and his body of work includes poetry, travelogues, and art criticism...
, Walasse Ting
Walasse Ting
Walasse Ting was a Chinese-American visual artist and poet. His colorful paintings have attracted critical admiration and a popular following. Common subjects include nude women and cats, birds and other animals....
, Pierre Wemaëre and Group SPUR, among others.