Psychological Perspectives, 52: 4–6, 2009Copyright c© C. G. Jung Institute of Los AngelesISSN: 0033-2925 print / 1556-3030 onlineDOI: 10.1080/00332920802662203

About the Artist: Alfred Jensen

Nancy Mozur

O ne would not necessarily associate the art of Alfred Jensen (1903–1981)with chaos. His canvases and works on paper are illuminations of creative

thinking, patterns, and order. But if the obvious references are set aside, themythology of chaos and the beginning of the world can provide clues for howto enter Jensen’s work by way of a different light.

According to Greek and Orphic tradition, the original Chaos existed asa vast, boundless space. From this void came Night (Nyx), “a bird with blackwings,” and Darkness (Erebus). As a result of their union, Nyx conceived awind-filled silver egg from which sprang forth the god of love and related-ness. It is this nature of Eros, created from the unformed, that is reflectedthroughout Jensen’s paintings.

Born in Guatemala from European parents, Alfred Jensen has alwayshad the influence and opportunities of drawing from multicultural and ancientsources for his imagery. Extensive travel and his curiosity to seek and study artbrought him into close contact with world masterpieces as well as the theoriesbehind their conception. During the early 1950s, he developed an interest inGoethe’s color principles, which ultimately resulted in his first one-man showat the John Heller Gallery in New York at the age of 50.

Jensen’s art continually evolved throughout the years into blueprints ofcomplex mathematical and philosophical systems that explored the mascu-line and the feminine, Mayan and Pythagorean numbering, the I Ching, archi-tectural temple structure, and electromagnetic and optical forces. Canvasesbecame containers for the marriage between polarities not only in content butalso in form. Visually, Jensen’s paintings are held together by the weight ofimpasto-ed pigment and handwritten scrawl in contrast to his cerebral nota-tions. His diagrams show traces of oil leaking onto the paper, alongside vibrantgeometric shapes that express the logic of his deliberations—hence, feelingand soul unite with thought.

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Ironically, this creative interplay tempts viewers and critics to dissect hisart’s cohesive mystery. Yet the artist responds: “My work is too integral to betorn apart so that the fragments of truth gleaned from its fractured unity maybe analyzed. My art represents wholeness, a freed time and space structure,a color and form realization equal to a vision beyond verbal explanation.”1

Jensen additionally has stated that “one has to know all sides beforeone can present the diamond.”2

So how can we approach his paintings at this current time? Perhaps withthe acknowledgment that Alfred Jensen’s work offers us a very individualizedglimpse of something healing. It is a unique, often jewel-like portrayal of thepast and present with the intent to piece together a timeless core.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks to Mrs. Regina Bogat Jensen and her family, Jennifer Benz Joy,PaceWildenstein, New York, and Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz and Artists’ RightsSociety (ARS), New York, for all of their assistance and contributions to thisissue of Psychological Perspectives. Work by the late Alfred Jensen canbe seen on his website, www.alfredjensen.com, or through PaceWildenstein,New York.

NOTES

1. Alfred Jensen, “Explanations for a Friend and Artist.” In Alfred Jensen: The Aperspec-

tive Structure of a Square, Cordier & Ekstrom, Inc., NY, 1970. Text based on a letter fromJensen to Allan Kaprow, September 24, 1969.

2. Christopher Crosman and Nancy Miller, Interview with Alfred Jensen (Glen Ridge, NewJersey, April 6, 1970), videotape.

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On the front cover: Alfred Jensen, The Apex is Nothing, 1960.Oil on canvas, 27′′ x 20′′ (68.6 cm x 50.8 cm).

C© 2008 Estate of Alfred Jensen / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkPhoto by: Ellen Page Wilson / Courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York

On the back cover:Alfred Jensen, Where the Gods Reside, Per. VI and Per. VII panels,

from Where the Gods Reside, Per. I-VIII, 1968.Oil on canvas, 94′′ x 376′′ (238.8 cm x 955 cm).

C© 2008 Estate of Alfred Jensen / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkPhoto by: Ellen Page Wilson / Courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York