Sergej Jensen

11.03.–18.06.2017
An art gallery with minimalist art on white walls and a polished floor.
A modern, white-walled art gallery with three minimalist paintings on display.
Silent art gallery with three modern framed artworks on a white wall.
A minimalist gallery room with light-colored artworks displayed on pristine white walls.
An art gallery with minimalist paintings on white walls and a smooth floor.
Three contemporary art pieces hang on the walls of a minimalistic gallery.
A minimalist art gallery showcasing two plain brown and grey paintings.
This gallery features three distinct abstract paintings on white walls.
A minimalistic gallery showcasing four diverse artworks on white walls.
A minimalist art gallery with three paintings and two doorways.
Four artworks are hung on white gallery walls in a room with a gray baseboard.
A corridor in an art gallery featuring framed artworks and an exit sign on an open door.
Four abstract paintings in varying shades of black and white are hanging on a pristine white wall in an art gallery.
A modern gallery showcasing a colorful nature painting on a white wall.
A minimalist art gallery with white walls and modern art pieces.
A gallery with four minimalist paintings of different colors on white walls.
This gallery room features three minimalist art pieces on white walls.
A minimalist art gallery with two paintings displayed on white walls.
An art gallery with three abstract paintings on white walls.
Minimalist gallery with a large black art piece on white wall and a reflective floor.
A minimalistic art gallery with two abstract paintings on white walls.

Artist

  • Sergej Jensen

Curators

  • Johan Holten
  • Luisa Heese

From March to June, the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden presents an extensive solo exhibition by Sergej Jensen. With over 40 works by the artist living in New York and Berlin, the show is presenting a selection of works from 2001 to the present. It is the first institutional solo exhibition in Germany since 2013.

Jensen was born in 1973 in Maglegaard, Denmark, grew up in Frankfurt and studied at the local Städelschule under Prof. Thomas Bayrle. Since the late nineties, he is trying to omit paint and painterly evidence up to the point where he encounters the painting support. Jensen uses raw fabrics like linen, jute, nettle or silk, both as support and means of composition. He laminates these with found fabrics or money, colours them in the washing machine or mixes the colours with bleach. The remnants of his paintings are stitched together to create new works.

The motives used include early computer graphics and images of dusty modernities. Over time, the use of colour increased again. Sometimes appearing as monochrome surfaces or seemingly incidental blotches, sometimes pressed through the canvas from behind. Moreover, the very thickened or thinned acrylic paint prevents a fluent style.

In recent years figures have also found their way into Sergej Jensen’s work. Motives from classical art history appear. Seemingly assembled randomly, an almost oedipal relationship to painting runs through the different creative periods of the artist and indicates a fluid commitment to pictorial representation.