In his second solo exhibition at Galeria Fortes Vilaça, the Danish artist Sergej Jensen presents a series of new works. These new works confirm the artist’s interest in a painting practice that subverts the traditional technique by giving special attention to the fabrics used as a support for the painting.
Recognized mostly for his textile works, Jensen expands painting’s vocabulary beyond the traditional canvas and linen by using a variety of materials such as burlap, silk and wool. The fabric used for the canvas often comes from recycled pieces of previous works or found pieces of textiles, which are then sewn together and mounted on stretchers. His compositions of a minimalist nature mainly involve a study of surfaces where weaves, twists, blotches and seams are silent but fundamentally important occurrences.
Although the artist eschewed the use of paint for a long time, in these recent works it returns to the canvas albeit indirectly, penetrating its surface from behind. As elements that sprout nearly uncontrollably, the abstract blotches of paint suggest landscapes, maps or fungi in patterns that border on figuration. His fragile surfaces and languorous gestures propose critical digressions on outworn modernist questions such as, for example, the nature of abstraction or of monochrome.
Sergej Jensen was born in Denmark in 1973, and lives between Berlin and New York. He has participated in countless international group exhibitions including: Annette Kelm, Sergej Jensen, Wolfgang Breuer, at Kunstwerke Berlin (2009); Of Mice and Men, at the Berlin Biennial (2006); the Momentum Nordic Festival of Contemporary Art, in Moss, Norway (2006); and the Bienal de São Paulo (2004). His solo shows include: Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, and the Aspen Art Museum, Aspen (2010), Malmö Konsthall, Malmö (2008), Pinakothek der Moderne (with Henrik Olesen), Munich (2008), Schmol, Kunsthalle Bergen, Norway (2008), Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (2008), Nomadic Bags and Bag Faces, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2007), Kunstverein Bremerhaven, Germany (2004), and Kunstverein Braunschweig (with Stefan Müller), Germany (2003).
