Asger Jorn | Out of the basement | kvadratinterwoven

Danish journalist Kristian Vistrup Madsen wrote an article on Asger Jorn’s recently discovered linocuts, printed and published by BORCH Editions.

‘Asger Jorn (1914-1973) is one of the most thoroughly researched and canonised Danish artists of the 20th century. So, when as many as 52 hitherto unknown linocuts were recently discovered in a basement in Jorn’s hometown of Silkeborg, it came as something of a surprise. “A new graphic work tends to be discovered every five or six years. But to discover 52 at once is sensational,” says Jacob Thage, director of Silkeborg’s Museum Jorn, which is home to the most comprehensive collection of the artist’s works.

The Museum Jorn soon got in touch with Niels Borch Jensen, one of the country’s premier printmakers, and asked him to inspect the find. “There were no actual prints in the suitcase, just the cuts themselves, and they will tell us little about the final outcome,” says Borch Jensen. “When you work with cuts, really, you’re making something without knowing what it looks like.” The cuts were in good shape, considering their age. But even then, working with such old materials is a very delicate process. “To even be able to properly assess the motifs, we had to print the whole series manually, pressing onto the cuts with a spoon. It was incredibly time-consuming.”

Please find the complete article on kvadratinterwoven.