COBRA in Louisiana

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art opens its doors to the first large exhibition of the season. Louisiana’s treasury (Humlebaek) demonstrates another pearl, which this time is masterpieces of the European avant-garde movement COBRA’s members. Though it is not the first time these artists’ pictures have been displayed, today the exhibition sets a special goal, to reflect the relationship between the COBRA group and Swiss artist Paul Klee (1879-1940).

It should seem that the COBRA group, which was founded after World War II and lasted for three years only, has had more than enough exhibitions to show. However, Louisiana’s curators have managed to show the group’s works in a new light. This time they will tell a story of artists inspiring each other; or more precisely, not always each other. Asger Jorn’s pictures and works of COBRA’s other members were not the source of inspiration for Paul Klee, for example. In fact, Klee died 8 years before the COBRA movement was founded 9 November 1948 in Paris. But COBRA’s artists, as well as Klee, were extremely interested in naïve art. By the way, the movement’s name is made up of the first letters of the members’ hometowns, which are COpenhagen, BRussels, and Amsterdam.

After World War II European artists sought inspiration from different movements. The childlike style became one of them. Klee can be referred to as a naïve artist, along with some other artists of that period. Once, in his midlife Klee found drawings he made when he was under age ten; he considered them his first important works.

Some might call turning to naïve art a bold decision, but childlike style had long kept on inspiring Klee. He even engaged his little son in the process, to involve childish spontaneity. This was also the goal of many other artists of the COBRA group, as well as childlike naïve style was the focal point of their work.

This is exactly what Louisiana exhibition is going to show. The story will be interesting and convincing; thanks to the cooperation with other large museums of the world, 120 works by Paul Klee have been brought together. Along with Klee’s masterpieces, the exhibition will also display the works by the COBRA movement’s artists, among which are not only Asger Jorn’s pictures but also those by Karel Appel, Pierre Alechinsky, Corneille, Carl-Henning Pedersen, Egill Jacobsen, and Ejler Bille.

The exhibition will last till 8 January 2012.

Though, visiting this exhibition is not the only reason to go to Louisiana in October. Along with Klee and the COBRA group’s masterpieces, the museum also presents beautiful drawings by Latvian-born American artist Vija Celmins. Though minimalist, her works are very profound, fine, and poetic. While major architecture exhibition Living, dedicated to future houses, can be extremely interesting to the visitor as well.

 

 

Original text, photo: Berlingske Media