Jakob Jørgensen (Danish, b. 1977) is a hands-on artist, deeply involved in the tangible material he is exploring as well as in the intellectual perspectives of a given project. Resistance is a key focal point for Jørgensen, who is thrilled when materials put up a fight and he has to grapple and tussle with them in order to bring out their core. Grasp the essence and pull out the form, despite any inherent defiance. Engaging in this process is a deeply personal experience, and one that captivates him.
For many years Jørgensen has made wood the basis for a range of poetic and epic furniture, many of them chairs and storage pieces with narrative titles. These works occupy a continuum between the commercial and the artistic; Jørgensen is fluent in both idioms and works in a continuous cross-fertilization between set and free tasks. He’s also an accomplished craftsman, who masters virtually every step in the artistic process, whether the material is wood, stone or steel. And he does nothing by halves. Why should he, since he can achieve whatever he sets his mind to, using his hands and his tools? Although graduating from school as a furniture designer, Jørgensen also trained as a sculptor, working mainly in stone in his 20s. Now, two decades later, he has embraced steel. Always curious about the material, he is now driven to explore its plasticity, discovering how an industrial cylinder can be transformed to hold an organic and artistic potential that challenges conventional thinking.
Photography by Dorte Krogh
In his work with steel, Jørgensen investigates how the basic geometry of a steel tube is affected when the material is subjected to pressure. The result is an organic articulation with strong references to nature — and to wood, a material he knows by heart. Jørgensen has learned the techniques involved: welding, forging, using a hammer and anvil, and using a jack to compress the steel. Five targeted pressure points, and the steel tube begins to look like a bench. His organic expression stands in stark contrast to the indus- trial universe of machinery. A steel tube becomes a totem symbolizing the link between nature and industry. The act of reshaping the tube and wrestling with its artistic potential appeals to Jørgensen, and during the creative process he is more interested in what the material affords and how it reacts than whether the result is art or design. To him, the goal is to explore a material and the possibilities it can offer in order to arrive at his own unique synthesis of matter and idea. Scale also plays a compelling role in Jørgensen’s work; a simple scaling up of a design or an idea brings out the unexpected and magical. It allows the steel to dominate the room with a grounded materiality; the totem has a palpable impact as it bellows out its strength. Jørgensen does not raise his voice but lets his restrained and powerful sculptures speak for him.
JAKOB JØRGENSEN
b. 1977, Denmark
EDUCATION
2008 Danish School of Design, Department of Furniture and Space, Copenhagen, Denmark
2001 Scandinavian Design College, Randers, Denmark
1999 Apprenticeship at Studio Palla, Pietrasanta, Carrara, Italy
1998 Guildhall, School of Fine Arts, London, United Kingdom
1996 The New Art School, Odense, Denmark
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 Take Root, HB381, New York, NY
2018 Totem, Galerie Maria Wettergren, Paris, France
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Made: Sølvgade 19, Copenhagen, Denmark
2022 Matter at Hand: Ten Artists in Denmark, Hostler Burrows, Los Angeles, CA
Metalworks - Designing & Making, Konschthal Esch, Alzette, Luxembourg
2021 Matter at Hand: Ten Artists in Denmark, Hostler Burrows, New York, NY
2020 Spring Exhibition, Charlottenborg, Denmark
2019 Japan tur/retur, Exhibition of Oryoki Bowls designed with Line Depping, A. Petersen Collection & Craft Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2018 Halstrøm, Odgaard, Depping, Jørgensen, A. Petersen Collection & Craft Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
2017 Everyday Life, 21st Century Museum, Kanazawa, Japan
Side by Side – Outside, SE17, Designmuseum in collaboration with Snedkernes Afterårsudstilling, Copenhagen, Denmark
2016 Pitch Black, SE16, Snedkernes Afterårsudstilling, Copenhagen, Denmark
2015 Mindcraft 15, San Simpliciano Cloister, Milan, Italy
Mindcraft 15, Designmuseum, Copenhagen, Denmark
2014 Barca, Designmuseum, Copenhagen, Denmark
Dwell On Design, 82Mercer, New York, USA
Mindcraft 14, Ventura Lambrate, Milan, Italy
Furniture Set in a Textile Universe, SE 14, Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
2013 Storage, SE13, Designmuseum, Copenhagen, Denmark
2012 Generation Design, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, France
Ampersand House, Brussels, Belgium
Mindcraft 12, Ventura Lambrate, Milan, Italy
2011 My 30th Birthday, SE11, Designmuseum, Copenhagen, Denmark
Bodum Design Award, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
Wood Couture, Galerie Maria Wettergren, Paris, France
IFDA, Asahikawa Furniture Center, Japan
2010 Whiteout, SE10, Snedkernes Afterårsudstilling, Copenhagen, Denmark
Designers Investigating, Øksenehallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Uncovered, Milan Furniture Fair, Italy
Greenhouse, Stockholm Furniture Fair, Sweden
2009 Skud på Stammen, Copenhagen Technical School, Denmark
A Chair for Negotiation, SE9, Snedkernes Afterårsudstilling, Copenhagen, Denmark
2008 Architecture that Moves, The Academy of Fine Arts’ School of Architecture, Copenhagen, Denmark
Living Design Center Ozone, Tokyo, Japan
Graduate Exhibition, The Danish School of Design, Copenhagen, Denmark
AWARDS & GRANTS
2015 Danish Arts Council Grant
2015 Finn Juhl Prize
2012 Wallpaper Design Awards
2011 Bodum Design Award
2008 IFDA Japan, Goldleaf Award
COLLECTIONS
Danish Arts Foundation, Denmark
A. Petersen, Copenhagen, Denmark
