Jørgen Haugen Sørensen and the tube sculptures made at the Rabekke factory, Moma

Se og Hør, 20 July 1960
Portrait of a Couple I (Male/Female)

Male part: 107 x 90 x 80 cm. - Female part: 111 x 92 cm.

Sold by Galerie Birch in 1960 – the male part to a mustard manufacturer Arffmann in Randers, the feminine part to: Moma, Museum of modern art in New York
Photo from catalogue

The relief, Portrait of a Flock, 1960, 120 x 175 cm, which was purchased and donated to MoMa at the same time, was a gift from an American collector, Mr. Thomas of Pittsburgh. Jørgen exhibited at the international biennale in Pittsburgh several times.

Catalog text: Galerie Birch: Jørgen Haugen Sørensen 1953-1976 Belongs to the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift from the American collector Mr. Thomas.

Unfortunately, the relief was crushed during transport to New York
The relief, Portrait of a Flock, 1960, 120 x 175 cm
Painting and Sculpture in The Museum of Modern Art

Catalogue of the Collection

January 1, 1977
The Museum of Modern Art

Recent Acquisitions Checklist
Portrait of a Couple II, 1959-60, 104 x 154 cm

Exhibited at Galerie Birch, 1960; Randers Art Museum 1979; Esbjerg Art Pavilion 1998, belongs to Randers Art Museum.
The Pipe Boy, 1959-60, 82 x 74 cm

Galerie Birch (1960) and Randers Art Museum (1979)

belong to Erik and Else Johannesen, Randers
Portrait of those who suck, 1959-60

Exhibitions: Galerie Birch 1960 and Randers Kunstmuseum 1979

Belongs to Gunner Christensen, Randers

PART II

Jørgen worked at Rabaekken during the summer of 1960, where he made a series of sculptures and reliefs from the pipes that the factory produced.
Twelve tube sculptures and reliefs are now registered in the Jørgen Haugen Sørensen Archive.

From a newspaper clipping dating from 1960:
Fork lifters and bulldozers drove around him and the energetic pace encouraged him to keep going from early morning to late evening:
“I recorded only what went through my head. All that I had seen on the streets and what I read in people’s faces and their sudden reactions. Like a mirror, I renders what I catch. I try to capture the moment, holding on to that moment and keep working until things start show. Until they live. And if they don’t, well, then I’ll throw them away.”

In the autumn of 1960, the tube sculptures were exhibited in Galerie Birch’s newly opened gallery in Copenhagen, together with a number of bronzes that Jorgen had made at Thelmer Sørensen’s bronze foundry in Søborg.
The tube sculptures were refreshingly inventive and strong, and within the first two hours of the opening the gallerist Børge Birch had sold nearly everything. Of the twelve tube sculptures and twenty smaller bronzes Jorgen showed, only two remained, as they had been overlooked in the frenzy.

Jørgen was called “The Sputnik of Art” in the daily press.
“I try to express myself. I follow my impulses and give myself completely, to make it as honest as possible. Before, my head and hands didn’t quite work together. Now, it’s easier for me to follow my ideas because I understand that I shouldn’t follow others’ rules but my own laws. One must create their own world, make their own things, and acknowledge their mistakes. You don’t move forward when you work with a safety net.”

The Sputnik sculptor, had left his clear mark, not only on the Danish art scene, but also internationally. Sculptures and reliefs were purchased by collectors in Denmark but also abroad.
The large sculpture “Portrait of a Couple I” and a big relief “Portrait of a Flock” were sold to MoMa in New York through an American art collector, a Mr. Thomson from Pittsburgh.

However, the former butcher Børge Birch, who also was a tough art dealer, decided to split the sculpture in two and sold the masculine part of the sculpture to a mustard manufacturer Arffmann in Randers, which meant MoMa only received the female part of the couple to their collection.
“Portrait of a Couple I” is registered as “Woman” in their archive, and I think it’s time for the other half of the tube sculpture to be sent to MoMa as is was meant to be.

The relief “Portrait of a Flock”, which was purchased and donated to MoMa at the same time, was unfortunately crushed during transport to New York – and never replaced.

This was the first of many unpleasant incidents Jorgen experienced with art dealer Birch, who he also considered a close friend and from whom he learned a lot, but unfortunately also depended on economically. Birch wanted Jorgen to be more commercial, which Jorgen denied.

Jorgen moved on to Milan and Paris where he started working and showing successfully. Asger Jorn recommended Jorgen to the Carlo Cardazzo, the owner of the famous Galeria del Naviglio in Milan, who liked his work and took him in. Just a year after, in 1961, he showed and once again with big success.

All seemed golden and promising, but the more I have become a re-teller of his life, telling his stories with my own words, I realise with increasing clarity, the many misfortunes he also had to endure all through his life. True, many of the obstacles he ran into also occurred due to his temperamental nature, like a boxer hitting back in defence.
The challenging situations, also made him the one of a kind he became, always following his own rules, avoiding being a part of any flock. He stayed a witness all his life, and this was a very conscious choice.

Eli Benveniste