Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Asger Jorn. It dates from 1944 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
The work consists of overlapping fields of vivid red, blue and yellow that collide on a white ground, producing a dynamic, non‑representational composition.
Created in 1944, this lithograph by Danish artist Asger Jorn exemplifies his early experimental approach to abstraction. The work consists of overlapping fields of vivid red, blue and yellow that collide on a white ground, producing a dynamic, non‑representational composition. Its energetic arrangement of irregular strokes and splashes reflects the spontaneous aesthetic that would later characterize the COBRA movement.
Subject & Meaning
The print offers no identifiable subject; instead it foregrounds the interaction of colour and form. By allowing pigments to clash and merge, Jorn invites viewers to experience visual tension and rhythm rather than narrative content, aligning with his interest in expressing raw, emotional impulses through non‑figurative means.
Technique & Style
Executed as a lithograph, the image was produced by drawing directly onto a stone or metal plate with greasy media, then transferring the design onto paper through a press. The resulting marks vary from thick, assertive strokes to faint, translucent lines, demonstrating Jorn’s rapid, gestural handling of the medium and his exploration of layered, overlapping textures.
History & Provenance
As a member of the avant‑garde COBRA group, Jorn created this work before the movement’s formal founding in 1948. He later helped establish the Situationist International in the late 1950s. The lithograph entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of mid‑twentieth‑century printmaking.
Artist & collection
Artist
Asger Oluf Jorn (3 March 1914 – 1 May 1973) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author.
