1964, Asger Jorn, Distressed Complexes -- National Museum (Oslo)
From the museum label:
"We wanted to begin afresh, like a child," says Karel Appel, looking back at the artists group CoBrA, active in the period 1948-53. Jorn is a driving force. The group's name is an acronym of the artists' home cities: Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam.
After World War II, many artists establish links across national borders. The reference to the cobra snake indicates the group's ambitions. They want to be dangerous by challenging bourgeois attitudes and capitalism. They demand absolute freedom! The artistic process is more important than the result.
The group disbands in 1953, but in the years that follow, several former members build on the foundations they have laid, developing a distinctive style of abstract expressionism.
1964, Asger Jorn, Distressed Complexes -- National Museum (Oslo)
From the museum label:
"We wanted to begin afresh, like a child," says Karel Appel, looking back at the artists group CoBrA, active in the period 1948-53. Jorn is a driving force. The group's name is an acronym of the artists' home cities: Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam.
After World War II, many artists establish links across national borders. The reference to the cobra snake indicates the group's ambitions. They want to be dangerous by challenging bourgeois attitudes and capitalism. They demand absolute freedom! The artistic process is more important than the result.
The group disbands in 1953, but in the years that follow, several former members build on the foundations they have laid, developing a distinctive style of abstract expressionism.