The practice of Sergej Jensen (born 1973 in Maglegaard, Denmark, lives and
works in New York) draws on a wide range of materials and formal references.
Primarily known for his
textile
works, his lyrical compositions incorporate a variety of fabrics, from
burlap and linen to silk and wool. Working within the idiom of
minimalist
painting, Jensen takes its
material support—the canvas—and sews, bleaches, stretches or stains the
cloth to create works that waver between abstraction and representation. The
principle of the readymade and recycling also suffuse his practice; off-cuts
from previous works often re-appear as motifs for new paintings;
hand-knitted lengths are sewn or pulled over stretchers; sections of fabric
are left outside to let the weather alter its surface. His practice draws
attention to seemingly incidental details such as flecks of wool or frayed
edges, and his muted palette and gestural mark-making, whether applied in
paint or stained with bleach, point as much to negative space as to
delineated forms. Although the imagery can be hard to read, the titles given
often allude to their point of origin in recognisable forms, such as
Tower
of Nothing made from recycled moneybags, or
Eye of the maker
featuring various banknotes of different currencies, which point to his
unabashed relationship to the commercial market.
While the discourse of Jensen's paintings is often associated with the work
of
Rosemarie Trockel,
Sigmar Polke, Blinky Palermo and
Michael
Krebber, it is the production of his own music, films and
collaborative performances which bears as large an influence over his
practice. In previous gallery exhibitions, Jensen has also subverted
the gallery context by the arrangement of his paintings alongside additional
domestic elements such as a fireplace, rugs or carpeting. For the Berlin
Biennial, Jensen created a “waiting room” lined with chairs, paintings,
appliquéd fabric ceiling and a monitor with a film by Jensen capturing from
a window unsuspecting passers-by in a park.
He has exhibited widely including solo exhibitions at Staatliche Kunsthalle
Baden-Baden, Germany (2017); National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen (2016);
Berlinische Galerie, Berlin (2013); MoMA PS1, New York (2011); Aspen Art
Museum, Colorado (2010); Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin
(2009); and Pinakothek Der Moderne, Munich touring to Kunsthalle Bergen,
Norway and Malmö Konsthall, Sweden (2008). Selected group exhibitions
include 6th Hammer Invitational, The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2011);
Whitney Biennial, New York (2006); 6th Berlin Biennale (2006); and 26th
Bienal de São Paulo (2004).
