Museums corner | CoBrA art: abstract and experimental

The 1950s was filled with dreams of the good life and the welfare state, but at the same time there was a constant awareness of the Cold War lurking and nuclear threats. In the shadow of the Cold War, an experimental art movement called CoBrA was established.

 

The international art movement CoBrA (the name is a composition of the first letters in Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam) was an artist collective of painters and poets that formed beween 1948 and 1951. The artists were from Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands, and among the initiators was Danish painter Asger Jorn. CoBrA experimented with spontaneous abstract art, but also had a political and social agenda. Here Kulturklik guides you to where you can experience CoBrA art in September.

 

International 1950s art At Sophienholm you can experience a private collection of 1950s art. The collection represents an important period in the developmentof modern art and displays 130 paintings and sculptures. It belonged to Professor Erik Andreasen, until he in 1982 donated the works of art to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. The exhibition shows constructive and abstract art from the 1950s, including work by CoBrA, Carl Henning Pedersen and Henry Heerup.

Sophienholm; ends Thu (Sep 20)

 

CoBrA – Art without Borders Heerup Museum, whichhouses works by Henry Heerup, one of CoBrA’s most innovative artists, is the ideal setting for the lecture ‘CoBrA – Art without Borders’. Presented by museum director Hanne Lundgren Nielsen, in association with Carl Henning Pedersen and Else Alfelts Museum, there will be a chance to discuss the significance of the group’s collective work and the influence it has on artists today.

Heerup Museum; Thu (Sep 20) 17:00-19:00

Morbid phenomena – Asger Jorn Another prominent artist from the CoBrA movement is Asger Jorn, and in the lecture ‘Morbid phenomena – Asger Jorn’, PhD student Helle Anita Brøns talks about Jorn’s views on the 1950s political situation and social development. He commented on these issues in his art in several ways, and his paintings bear experience of the Second World War, but was also marked by the fear of a future nuclear war. Jorn’s expressions range from a fear of the Cold War to an ironic distortion of consumption.

National Gallery; Wed (Sep 19) 18:00

 

The seeds of rebellion
Go on a guided tour in which the National Gallery of Art focuses on the Danish post-war painters who were pioneers of the 1960s and 1970s political provocation-art. They used abstract form experiments, while their engagement in the world influenced their art. The tour follows the thread from one of the CoBrA movement’s founders, Asger Jorn, to provocateur Bjørn Nørgaard.

National Gallery of Art; Sep 22 & 23, 12:00-13:00

Find out more at http://www.cphmuseums.com/.

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