Sergej Jensen’s (b. 1973) extraordinary works are innovative in character but also engage in an intense dialogue with history. Louisiana Museum of Modern Art north of Copenhagen applied to the New Carlsberg Foundation for a grant to acquire the painting Socialliberal abstraktion [Social liberal abstraction], 2014, and the piece is now on display side by side with other prominent works in the museum’s collection. Louisiana’s interest in a piece by this artist is not surprising, as Sergej Jensen has much in common with many of the artists that Louisiana works with, says the museum’s director, Poul Erik Tøjner:

‘Morris Louis, Robert Ryman, Yves Klein, Lucio Fontana and Sigmar Polke are part of the original capital at Louisiana in the story about painting in the post-war era, and at the same time, these names also, each in their way, contribute to an institutional framework for understanding Sergej Jensen’s work over the past decade. This young but internationally exposed artist makes an important contribution to the museum's collection, engaging in a dialogue with other contemporary artists at Louisiana, such as Jonathan Meese, Tal R and Daniel Richter.’

Sergej Jensen’s works are often made of found materials, typically canvas, tarpaulin fabric and jute. He sews, bleaches, stretches and stains the fabric and stitches it together to form dark and abstract narratives.

‘Almost like a classical painter, he delicately moulds the fabric, leaving behind traces of his process. The fact that the materials are often found and have sometimes played a role in non-art-related contexts, leaves its marks, while pigments added to the surface are clearly the result of Sergej Jensen’s own, deliberately subtle strategy,’ Poul Erik Tøjner explains.

In connection with the acquisition of Socialliberal abstraktion, the artist donated another, large piece, also from 2014: Heksehertugen fra Herlev [The witch duke of Herlev], which is now also part of Louisiana’s collection.