Alfred Jensen began his career as a painter in the autumn of his life. His rapid rise is even more astonishing, for within a few years, he became one of the most important representatives of Abstract Expressionism of the New York School. He became well known not only in America, but also in Europe, especially in Switzerland.
(...) Continue readingAlfred Jensen - Sailor, art student and world traveller
Alfred Julio "Al" Jensen was born on 11th December 1903 to a German-Polish mother and a Danish father. He spent his childhood in Guatemala, and after the death of his mother, father and son moved to Denmark for a few years. There, the young Alfred Jensen showed a lively interest in the art of drawing from an early age, but first went to sea and travelled to Guatemala and California before he was able to study at the San Diego Fine Arts School in 1924 with the help of a scholarship. His teacher in America was Eugene De Vol, and two years later Jensen moved to Munich, where he was taught by Hans Hofmann from 1926 to 1928. From 1929 to 1937, the globetrotter Jensen undertook study trips through the major metropolises of Europe, especially Paris, and also visited North Africa before finally settling down, albeit temporarily, in New York City.
Later new start as a painter
Two encounters were to have a decisive influence on Alfred Jensen's life: Firstly, the meeting with the French painter and sculptor André Masson, which had a lasting influence on Jensen's artistic development. The second was his acquaintance with a wealthy, considerably older American art collector lady, whom he followed as a constant companion and advisor on numerous trips around the world. This relationship lasted for 25 years before the death of the old lady presented Jensen, who was no longer young himself, with an incisive turning point. Jensen decided to take a risk, dared to make an uncompromising new start, and switched from art lover to artist. He rented a studio in his adopted home of New York and experimented with different styles. After initial experiments with Abstract Expressionism, Jensen finally found his own conceptual style of geometry and bright colours, inspired largely by his Central American homeland, but for which he also studied Goethe's theory of colour and the writings of Leonardo da Vinci intensively. Thanks to his excellent contacts within the art scene, he soon managed to sell his work for a high price, even if many critics and artists did not immediately sanction his late change of direction.
Modern style, antique motifs
There is no doubt that Alfred Jensen was a modern artist, even if he did not see himself as such. Rather, he saw himself as an heir to the cultural traditions of Central America. The famous Mayan calendar became a dominant theme in Jensen's work, and he repeatedly undertook study trips to Central and South America. Recurring exhibitions broadened his fame and also brought him attention in Germany. He held a chair at Columbia University before finding his last home in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, in 1972.
Alfred Jensen died in Glen Ridge on 4th April 1981. His works still fetch considerable prices at auctions in the USA. In Europe, Jensen is primarily known in Switzerland, not least thanks to a major retrospective organised by the Kunstmuseum Winterthur in 2015.
Alfred Jensen - Works that have already been sold at Kunsthaus Lempertz:
