Artist : Sergej Jensen revisited

I shared Danish artist, Sergej Jensen's work with you back in 2011. Coincidentally, last week, Joey Piziali, yet again mentioned I check out his new work at Anton Kern Gallery in New York. Oh my.

Untitled, 2011. 102" x 82" by Sergej Jensen. Image courtesy Anton Kern Gallery

Sergej continues his investigation into canvas. Literally, I mean the canvas. It's so funny how it takes just a gesture to remind you that a stretched canvas is really a work of fiber art. New directions are still to be had in painting.

Untitled, 2011. 114 3/16" x 94 1/2" by Sergej Jensen. Image courtesy Anton Kern Gallery

Jensen's new work includes some paint but displayed in an unusual way that once again reinforces the fact that you are looking at textiles, not just a painting. He found he liked the backside of the painting because of the way the paint seeped through randomly, without his control. He celebrates the surprise result by stretching the canvas backwards onto the frame.

Bat Girl Uschi, 2011. 47 1/4" x 59 1/16" by Sergej Jensen. Image courtesy Anton Kern Gallery

He has some more painterly pieces as well and a bit of wit. I wish I knew the story behind this one. My daughter is going through a Garfield addiction, she loves this one. I'd also love to know why the dimensions given are soooo exact, down to the 16th.

Untitled, 2011. 65" x 859 1/16" by Sergej Jensen. Image courtesy Anton Kern Gallery

And there's a little video of his latest show at Anton Kern, actually a lengthy one, eight minutes long, but worth watching. This is a chance to see the scale of these pieces, they are quite large, and some of the details up close (I wish he would have paused for more than a second on some of the details). It's the closest thing to being at the opening. I wish I were there.

And after doing a little digging, I found there's a monograph available now. Uh oh, looks like I need to squeeze two more inches on my studio library shelves. That's going to be a challenge. See more of his work at Anton Kern Gallery here.