Asger Jorn Retrospective at MAMCS Strasbourg

The Musée d'art moderne et contemporain in Strasbourg, France, hosted the first French retrospective of Asger Jorn, titled "La Planète Jorn 1914-1973," from October 19, 2001, to January 15, 2002. The exhibition aimed to correct the common misconception that Jorn's work is limited to his role as a founder of the Cobra group (1948-1951), by presenting his broader output over more than thirty years. The show focused on his painting, while the catalog explored his diverse activities, including ceramics, political publishing, tapestry, experimental music, urbanism, and his role in the Situationist International, which he also co-founded. The catalog highlights Jorn's concept of art as a tool for world transformation, as noted by curator P.-H. Parsy. The review by Claude Rossignol notes that contemporary viewers may struggle to grasp the subversive audacity of Jorn's pure colors and hallucinatory forms, and the link between his revolutionary intentions and today's less impressionable audience. The catalog also details Jorn's contributions to the Situationist International, where his personal contacts and older age (17 years older than Guy Debord) helped give the movement an international dimension and placed creative acts at its core. The exhibition was scheduled to travel to the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona from February 13 to April 21, 2002.