Asger Jorn – Etudes et surprises (1971)

Louisiana poster with a work from the series, Etudes et Surprises (1971), by the Danish artist, Asger Jorn (1914-73). A series of images that show a more delicate and sensual side than we usually see from Jorn. Asger Jorn is one of the central figures in 20th century Danish art and his works have a special place in Louisiana.

Asger Jorn's pictures are about things that we all think about: Life, death, love and happiness. His pictures are populated by imaginary beings who, like us, are born and die, love, cry, laugh, etc.

Jorn was a boundary-crossing artist in every way—both in terms of the international art scene, the COBRA movement, the Situationist International and much more, but also in relation to his thoughts on the artist's position in society.

Asger Jorn's challenges to the substance of art, to the materials, were legendary and lifelong. He worked with and processed all known categories within the visual arts, and had a special eye for breaking down categorizations, if that was even possible for him.

Jorn was critical of an elevated perception of art, and he deliberately challenged fine culture with banality, irony, humor and anti-aesthetics.

Like the generation of post-war artists, Asger Jorn insisted on the dream of community, socialism and on a universal, abstract imagery that could help unite war-torn Europe.