Klaus Jorn

The Other Side of Hyperbole

Being an artist is not easy, and it has never been. There are both advantages and disadvantages. But the foundation of everything is common sense, which teaches one how to see and how to understand what one sees. "An artist would be wise to change careers." We’ve heard this many times, but there are also cases where it is the father who consciously initiates his son, from early childhood, into the memory of preserving the creative artistic craft.

When this "illness"—as in Klaus Jorn's case—is first transmitted and develops away from the father (even though the father remains ever-present), it does not lead to a resolution, but rather to an existential choice, a continuous process that encompasses the positive influence and the immortality hidden in the transmission, as well as a favorable opportunity offered by human nature itself. Various exceptions have clearly shown us that in the conscious act, one must address the audience directly, as the work moves in an opposite direction and seeks its own continuity, which immediately makes it clear to us that Asger Jorn's son should not necessarily be considered a copy of his father, even though they share the same surname.

Klaus Jorn painted alongside his father as a child, traveled with him, and frequented the Parisian artistic milieu of the late 1950s. He also worked in his father's studio, helping, among other things, to stretch canvases. He learned how to construct a painting but left home during his teenage years. After a deep internal crisis that led him into isolation and self-destruction, he has now completely freed himself from the historical baggage that weighed him down and strives, as he puts it, to "find balance in the world through visual art."

It would be meaningless to delve into every detail that connects his life to that of his father. One could fill entire books with stories rooted in cohesion and love, passion and rebellion, but it is worth noting that the "result" is Klaus Jorn's own maturity, and what matters is his body of work.

Klaus Jorn finds great support in music for his artistic endeavors. He never pressures himself to draw more than one picture a day, and while working, he often listens to music. Ever since childhood, he has loved clarinets. He owns five, one of which he built himself from a piece of wood. He is fond of Plato, Kierkegaard, and Freud. He criticizes H.C. Andersen and speaks of Freud as if he were a fellow writer who failed at writing a novel when addressing sexuality but was spot-on in discussing the ego, the id, and the superego.

The daily practice of drawing and painting on paper holds great significance for Klaus Jorn. He often visits churches in Copenhagen, and before starting to paint, he performs rituals that he describes in a way that sends chills down your spine. He stopped playing jazz several years ago, preferring traditional genres that he used to perform in jazz clubs in the past. The mention of jazz brings to mind musician Joe Jackson's words, which seem to describe Klaus Jorn's art: "Art is timeless; it paints an inner time." His art reaches toward infinity. He himself says that it depicts a limitless journey. He adds that the beauty and intensity of a painting are like an "egg," with the yolk representing the essential and the journey toward the center.

Notre Dame in Paris is one of the churches he cherishes most. Its two towers symbolize a balance between two forces, and this balance is precisely what he strives for in his art: the love and friendship between two beings, always represented in his works by two symbols of closure and openness, respectively.

The attentive observer can and should note the many influences that have shaped Jorn. These date back to Plato's "Apology" and the dialogue "Gorgias," where we encounter the charismatic Socrates. This is evident, for instance, in the emphasis Jorn places on the quality of life over its duration, his discourse on the absence of time, and the myth of the "naked" human being and the use of the body as a metaphor in argumentation, as he recounts his search for the mother. Klaus Jorn says that his artistic journey began the day he learned to draw a triangle. The triangle is the opposite of a woman's curves, and since then, starting with this triangle, he has consistently aimed to create a unique, unified work.

The attentive observer will also notice how, as happened with certain artists in the 19th century and some in the first half of the 20th century, since the 1960s, there has been a return to a philological-classical visual world. This has produced some of the most radical and groundbreaking speculative positions in painting. In speaking of Plato, Socrates, Kierkegaard, and Freud, the artist sets boundaries and rejects any possibility of renewal; instead, he stands firm on the significance of antiquity and the unchangeable nature of Truth and the Word. This ancient, anti-historical, and non-contemporary viewpoint contrasts with the historicism that seems to creep into the geo-art and neo-conceptual movements of our time.

"At a certain point, humans reach a cognitive stance and create their knowledge," says Carlo Michelstaedter (Gorizia 1887–Gorizia 1910). "The work confirms its entire personality, provided the method and the right to creation remain intact. And this is the decisive point: reason, the absolute: the divine." (C. Michelstaedter). This attitude toward knowledge characterizes the few who critique modern science. To criticize modern science is to reject the false "certainty" that science and the "scientific" society promise their followers by integrating them into a machinery of convenience and consumption, thereby depriving them of their individual responsibility. Instead of the overconfident, we encounter here the armored man. He represents the other side of hyperbole. (See C. Michelstaedter: "La persuasione e la rettorica," ed. Sergio Campailla, Adelphi, 2nd ed., Milan, 1986).

Gabriele Perretta

(Thanks are extended to Tine Koefoed for collaborating on and editing the interview that formed the basis of this text)

Reviews:

Letter to My Father

Asger Jorn created his famous painting "Letter to My Son" in 1956-57. Now his son, Klaus Jorn, is exhibiting drawings and watercolors in New York under the title "Letter to My Father."

By Jeanette Andersen

"Letter to My Father" is a title that evokes associations with Asger Jorn's famous painting "Letter to My Son," from 1956-57, which gained international acclaim. The Alexander Wood Gallery in Soho, New York, is currently showcasing a series of drawings and watercolors by Klaus Jorn, Asger Jorn's son, under the title "Letter to My Father." The title is an excellent introduction to Klaus Jorn's works, which the American audience has had little exposure to. It introduces him as both an independent artist and as someone who reflects his father's artistic legacy.

Alexander Wood interprets these exhibited works as a kind of letter from son to father, despite Asger Jorn having passed away in 1973. Alexander Wood says: "Klaus Jorn was deeply affected by his father's death, and his works express an emotional imbalance. They are filled with vivid colors, often applied in seemingly random or childlike patterns. However, his approach is reminiscent of Asger Jorn's. He also plays with a bit of Miro in his use of surfaces. The pieces seem to hover in space, while simple lines hint at other layers. The works also bear the influence of Cobra Group, of which Asger Jorn was a part."

Klaus Jorn's drawings are, on one hand, childishly naive and simple, but on the other hand, they convey danger, ambiguity, and inner tension. A series of drawings hint at a conflict between unrefined emotions and the aspects that most strongly evoke associations with humanity and animals. A number of drawings suggest a struggle between controlled and uncontrolled feelings. It is as if the drawings are grappling with both despair and aggression.

One drawing depicts two profiles joined together, connected by a bridge over the eyes and forehead. One profile has almost closed its mouth, and two tears are frozen on the cheek, while the other has an open mouth and sharp teeth ready for attack. It portrays silent despair locked in combat with anger and aggression.

Another drawing is like a head resting on a body, where the two parts are loosely connected with lines and a circle without a head. It resembles feelings or parts of a person that exist independently, unintegrated, and disconnected.

Three drawings are united under the theme of "Eyes." These have an abstract form resembling a face or an animal, dominated by one or several eyes. Like an active hand, the eyes extend beyond the form and out into a world. However, the action remains passive because the eyes are locked in a void.

Klaus Jorn also draws symbolic animals and abstract images, which express the same sense of ambiguity. Despite the conveyed danger, there is warmth and occasionally an almost joyful impression, although many of the works are held in yellow, red, green, and blue.

This is a late response that Klaus Jorn gives to his father. But perhaps it is also a dialogue, as if many years after his father’s death, he finally found it possible to reply — for it is difficult to be the son of a famous father.

Klaus Jorn's works have been mentioned in American art magazines like Flash, Art Forum, and Art in America. The exhibition has been well-received by American critics, and many of the works have already been reserved for sale.

The exhibition was organized through a collaboration with Joakim Rothenborg from Galleri Stalke in Copenhagen, and the two galleries plan further exchange projects. Alexander Wood's interest in Danish art is new, but he finds it fascinating. He has already viewed works by Thorbjørn Ebbesen, Thomas Bang, and Margrethe Sørensen, whom he hopes to exhibit in the future.

The exhibition can be seen at Alexander Wood Gallery, 127 Spring Street, Soho, New York.

Klaus Jorn in New York City

Letter to My Son. This is the title of a famous painting by Asger Jorn.

And: Letters to My Father. This is, in contrast, the unifying title of an exhibition featuring works by his son, Klaus Jorn. The exhibition is displayed at the highly regarded New York gallery Alexander Wood.

The connection is deliberately drawn, but as Flash Art editor Gabriele Peretta writes in a text included with the invitation, "Asger Jorn’s son should not necessarily be regarded as a copy of his father, just because they share the same last name."

Nevertheless, Peretta is convinced that the senior Jorn consciously initiated the junior Jorn into maintaining artistic creation in his memory:

"Klaus Jorn painted together with his father when he was a child, and he traveled with him and moved easily within the Parisian art scene in the second half of the 1960s. He also worked in his father’s studio, where he helped stretch canvases, among other things. He learned how to build a painting but left the home during his teenage years. After a deep internal crisis that led him into isolation and self-destruction, he has now freed himself from the historical baggage that weighed him down..."

Klaus Jorn resides in Copenhagen but has yet to exhibit publicly in Denmark

A Son of Jorn Exhibits in New York

Asger Jorn's son Klaus, who is 47 years old, has become a painter, and these days he is opening his first exhibition in New York. This takes place at Gallery Alexander Wood.

As a child, he painted together with his father, who also helped him stretch canvases. They traveled a lot together, and Klaus Jorn was well-acquainted with the Parisian art scene.

Later, there came a period of self-destruction and loneliness, but the crisis has been overcome, mainly through painting. He has freed himself from the historical baggage that weighed him down.

The exhibition in New York is titled Letters to My Father, as a response to one of Asger Jorn's most famous paintings, Letter to My Son.

Klaus Jorn Eyes the World

Klaus Jorn – Son of Asger Jorn – Debuts as a Painter at a Gallery in New York

Asger Jorn’s son, 47-year-old Klaus Jorn, has just made his debut as a painter at a gallery in New York. Far from Denmark and the shadow of his world-famous father, he is cautiously and quietly drawing his own image at the small gallery Alexander Wood on Spring Street in the heart of Soho, where, within less than half a square kilometer, there are 150 galleries and exhibitions.

Klaus Jorn breaks no boundaries, but his paintings tell the story of a man striving to free himself from a paternal bond, whose nature and force only he knows. The 17 paintings in the debut exhibition suggest that even in this act of liberation, he remains close to Asger Jorn.

He has titled the entire exhibition Letters to My Father, formulated as a response to Asger Jorn’s famous painting Letter to My Son. Klaus Jorn never wanted to be a painter. As a child, he always stood in his father’s studio, playing with colors, and later lived with Jorn in Paris. But in early adulthood, Klaus Jorn broke away. He later struggled deeply with life, culminating in a profound depression until a few years ago, when he decided to seek liberation where he had once felt trapped.

He began painting as a challenge, inspired by his father’s legacy. Klaus Jorn now believes he can find balance in his life and the world through art.

Klaus Jorn’s paintings often begin with traces of childhood symbols. They contain a childlike symbolic world, expressed with the awareness of an adult. In some works, the traces of toys like teddy bears, cats, or trains are visible.

In others, Klaus Jorn follows in his father’s footsteps. In one particularly haunting composition, the somber darkness of a nightmarish landscape is adorned with tiny eye-like dots that resemble a signature. "Two Trolls" is one of the few paintings where the title suggests figures in a larger narrative. Another piece echoes his father’s style, with devilish characters and the inscription: "Byens liv skal på landet, for man" ("The city’s life must go to the countryside, for man"). This is combined with playful and melancholic faces, echoing both Klaus and Asger Jorn’s emotional worlds.

In nearly all 17 paintings, eyes are a recurring motif. Often black and placed behind patterns, they appear as if they are observing the viewer and the artwork itself. These eyes could symbolize an ominous "Big Brother" presence or the watchful gaze of Asger Jorn, which continues to shadow Klaus’s journey.

Klaus Jorn’s debut exhibition in New York was made possible through Alexander Wood’s friendship with a Danish art dealer. Klaus himself did not attend the opening last Saturday. His paintings are priced between $2,500 and $3,000.

By Hans Andersen,

Jyllands-Posten's Correspondent

New York, January