Page 23 - Art at VIPERGEN Korr

Jens Birkemose: Træskulptur, undated. Mixed media on wooden board, 75.5 x 48 cm.
Jens Birkemose is best known for his paintings, but he also worked with ceramics, drawings, books, and collages often consisting of a significant amount of text. In Jens Birkemose’s paintings, dark tones are mixed with strong and powerful shades, and the brushstrokes are hectic and expressive. His paintings are within the abstract genre, and he has for long periods painted works where secret motifs were hidden in the composition. Before Jens Birkemose began studying at the art academy, he was
a student at the music conservatory and he has previously acknowledged a great deal of inspiration from musicians, especially John Cage, who worked with impulsivity as a creative force. The use of elements of chance and spontaneity largely characterized his artistic practice, and in his works, this method becomes obvious in the raw poetry and the open language. Jens Birkemose’s Træskulptur also represents his practice of juxtaposing classical painting with found objects. In the work, a small, roughly stylized person is reaching up towards a red-painted animal skull. Jens Birkemose often incorporated reflections on the human subconscious and emotional life into his works, which also becomes visible in Træskulptur where the expression is both hard-hitting and vulnerable.
Jens Birkemose (1943-2022 DK) studied at the Conservatory of Music and at the Royal Danish Academy of Arts
in Copenhagen. At the same time, he attended classes at the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Jens Birkemose has exhibited at The New Carlsberg Glyptotek, DK, and Museum Jorn, DK, among others. He was a member of the artists’ association the Decembrists, and his works are in the collections of The Norwegian Museum of Art and ARoS, among others. Jens Birkemose received the Eckersberg Medal and the Danish Art Foundation’s Lifelong Honorary Award.
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