LINIENS SAMMENSLUTNING EFTER-EXPRESSIONISME/ABSTRAKT KUNST/NEOPLASTICISME/SURREALISME. 1937. JORN’S FIRST EXHIBITION CATALOGUE IN COPENHAGEN SIGNED (TWICE) & ANNOTATED.

Copenhagen: Linien, 1937

20.4 x 12.4cm, 32pp plus printed wrappers. Exhibition catalogue. Asger Jorn first joined the Linien group in Copenhagan in 1935 at the age of 21 after a period of creating mostly mediocre works of a realist nature. This established group of painters and sculptors were a melange of post-surrealist artists who painted in an abstract style which immediately influenced Jorn’s expressionistic work. This exhibition contained works by members of Linien along some works by painters whom they regarded as their influences. Nine such works are noted herein and reproduced in b/w by Sophie Tauber Arp, Hans Arp, van Doesberg, Ernst, Kandinsky, Klee, Miro, Mondrian, Banguy, Bentsen, Hull and joined from the Linien group Olafsson, Olafsson, Heerup, Ferlov, Bille, Graumann, Dryberg-Petersen, Jacobsen and Asger O. Jorgensen (Jorn) himself. The latter earlier incarnation of Jorn displayed 7 works according to the catalogue (price for each was 250 kroner). Later Jorn (in the 1950s) was shown this catalogue and he wrote on the first internal page “ma premiere expedition a Copenhague/Jorn” in blue ink and on the page with his exhibition listing he crossed out parts of the printed name “Asger O. Jorgensen” and signed his name as Jorn above it. Sadly this book has become damp in the past and ink from the red printed card wrappers has leeched through the pages of the book. However as a flaw it is not so very terrible, all pages are easily read (red?) and visible – overall, with that noted flaw, it is in very good condition apart from rust on the staples. A rarity made even more so by Jorn’s intervention.