Skip to content
Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings, Installation view

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings

Installation view

2019

Stephen Prina, Exquisite Corpse: The Complete Paintings of Manet

Stephen Prina

Exquisite Corpse: The Complete Paintings of Manet

248 of 556

Parisienne (Robe à Traine)

Parisienne (Dress with a Train)

1875?

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

July 18, 2015

PUSH COMES TO LOVE, untitled 1999 - 2016

Ink wash on rag, barrier paper, and offset lithography on paper

Left: 76 x 49.2 inches

Right: 26 x 32.7 inches

Inquire
Arnulf Rainer, King Henry the Sixth

Arnulf Rainer

King Henry the Sixth

1989

Mixed media on engraving

16.9 x 23.4 inches

Inquire
Arnulf Rainer, King Henry the Fifth 

Arnulf Rainer

King Henry the Fifth 

1989

Mixed media on engraving

16.9 x 23.4 inches

Inquire
Arnulf Rainer, Cymbeline

Arnulf Rainer

Cymbeline

1989

Mixed media on engraving

17 x 22.3 inches

Inquire
Albert Oehlen, Ohne Titel

Albert Oehlen

Ohne Titel

2017

Ink, pencil on paper

9.75 x 7.25 inches

Inquire
Max Ernst, Untitled - Le feu

Max Ernst

Untitled - Le feu

1934

Collage on paper

6.2 x 4.9 inches

Inquire
Francis Picabia, Bière Sarrator

Francis Picabia

Bière Sarrator

ca. 1925

Readymade

13.75 x 9.75 inches

Inquire
Asger Jorn, Une tête comme ça

Asger Jorn

Une tête comme ça

Oil on canvas

19.4 x 16.1 inches

Inquire
Marcel Duchamp, L.H.O.O.Q.

Marcel Duchamp

L.H.O.O.Q.

1919/1964

Replica of rectified Readymade by Marcel Duchamp of 1919. Moustache and goatee added in pencil to reproduction of the Mona Lisa; printed lettering obscured in white gouache.

19 x 15 inches

 

Inquire
Asger Jorn, Conte du Nord (Northern Count) (Modification)

Asger Jorn

Conte du Nord (Northern Count) (Modification)

1959

Oil on canvas on found painting

31.7 x 21.1 inches

Inquire
Asger Jorn, Brotherhood Above All (Fraternité avant tout)

Asger Jorn

Brotherhood Above All (Fraternité avant tout)

1962

Oil on canvas (disfiguration/modification)

40.75 x 28.5 inches

Inquire
Asger Jorn, Untitled (Bathers)

Asger Jorn

Untitled (Bathers)

1963

Oil on canvas

24 x 19.7 inches

Inquire
Asger Jorn, Ainsi s’Ensor (Out of this World – after Ensor)

Asger Jorn

Ainsi s’Ensor (Out of this World – after Ensor)

1962

Oil on canvas (disfiguration/modification)

23.8 x 16.9 inches

Inquire
Asger Jorn, The Little Grey Home in the West (Modification)

Asger Jorn

The Little Grey Home in the West (Modification)

1959

Oil on canvas on found painting

18.9 x 39.4 inches

Inquire
Asger Jorn, Le Hollandais Volant (Modification) -The Flying Dutchman

Asger Jorn

Le Hollandais Volant (Modification) -The Flying Dutchman

1959

Oil on board over an earlier painting

19.9 x 39.4 inches

Inquire
David Wojnarowicz, True Myth (Kraft Grape Jelly)

David Wojnarowicz

True Myth (Kraft Grape Jelly)

1983

Silkscreen on supermarket poster

34 x 25 inches

Inquire
David Wojnarowicz, Jean Genet Masturbating in Metteray Prison (London Broil)

David Wojnarowicz

Jean Genet Masturbating in Metteray Prison (London Broil)

1983

Silkscreen on supermarket poster

33.25 x 25 inches

Inquire
David Wojnarowicz, True Myth (Domino Sugar)

David Wojnarowicz

True Myth (Domino Sugar)

1983

Silkscreen on supermarket poster

34 x 25 inches

Inquire
Alexis Smith, Fools Rush In

Alexis Smith

Fools Rush In

1982

Mixed media

21 x 18 inches

Inquire
Alexis Smith, Fire & Ice (Christmas Eve, 1943)

Alexis Smith

Fire & Ice (Christmas Eve, 1943)

1982

Mixed media

21.5 x 17.25 inches

Inquire
Alexis Smith, Bad Day.... (Christmas Eve, 1943)

Alexis Smith

Bad Day.... (Christmas Eve, 1943)

1982

Mixed media

21.5 x 17.25 inches

Inquire
Alexis Smith, Lost Horizon

Alexis Smith

Lost Horizon

1982

Mixed media

22 x 28 inches

Inquire
Julian Schnabel, Untitled (BEZ)

Julian Schnabel

Untitled (BEZ)

2011

Inkjet print, oil, ink, gesso, resin on polyester 

106 x 75 inches

Inquire
Per Kirkeby, Untitled

Per Kirkeby

Untitled

2013

Oil on canvas

20.75 x 24.25 inches

Inquire
Per Kirkeby, Untitled

Per Kirkeby

Untitled

2012

Oil on canvas

12.75 x 16 inches

Inquire
Wade Guyton & Stephen Prina, Wade Guyton, Untitled, 2017, Epson UltraChrome HDR on linen

Wade Guyton & Stephen Prina

Wade Guyton, Untitled, 2017, Epson UltraChrome HDR on linen

Stephen Prina, PUSH COMES TO LOVE, Untitled, 1999 - 2017

2017

Epson UltraChrome HDR on linen

The entire contents of a can of enamel spray paint

84 x 69 inches

Inquire
R.H. Quaytman, The Sun, Chapter 1 [Book 1, Fear A]

R.H. Quaytman

The Sun, Chapter 1 [Book 1, Fear A]

2001

Silkscreen ink, gesso on wood

20 x 32.4 inches

Inquire
Daniel Spoerri, Autoportrait aux lunettes

Daniel Spoerri

Autoportrait aux lunettes

1963

Photo assemblage

11.4 x 8.3 inches

Inquire
Ray Johnson, Untitled (Mona Lisa Bunny)

Ray Johnson

Untitled (Mona Lisa Bunny)

1984

Ink drawing

18 x 12.5 inches

Inquire
Ray Johnson, Untitled (Mona Lisa Graphic Print)

Ray Johnson

Untitled (Mona Lisa Graphic Print)

n.d.

Collage on illustration board

20 x 15 inches

Inquire
Ray Johnson, Untitled (Elvis Masked by Vertical Element with Colored Tesserae (Book Cover Series))

Ray Johnson

Untitled (Elvis Masked by Vertical Element with Colored Tesserae (Book Cover Series))

6.7.94

Collage on book board

10 x 8 inches

Inquire
Ray Johnson, Untitled (Dali Crucifixion with Nancy)

Ray Johnson

Untitled (Dali Crucifixion with Nancy)

ca. 1980

Collage on illustration board

20 x 15 inches

Inquire
Ray Johnson, Untitled (Pink Model)

Ray Johnson

Untitled (Pink Model)

7.4.83

Collage on illustration board

12.9 x 7 inches

Inquire
Martin Kippenberger, Modell Interconti

Martin Kippenberger

Modell Interconti

1987

Wood, metal, Gerhard Richter painting from 1973

12.6 x 31.3 x 23.2 inches

Inquire
Vidya Gastaldon, Healing Painting (Chasse aux esprits)

Vidya Gastaldon

Healing Painting (Chasse aux esprits)

2015

Oil on vintage framed paint

12.75 x 16 inches

Inquire
Vidya Gastaldon, Healing Painting (Marine monster)

Vidya Gastaldon

Healing Painting (Marine monster)

2016

Oil on vintage framed paint 

21.7 x 18.5 inches

Inquire
Betty Tompkins, Women Words (Grant Wood #1)

Betty Tompkins

Women Words (Grant Wood #1)

2017

Acrylic on paper

8.5 x 7.5 inches

Inquire
Betty Tompkins, Women Words #44 (Weegee)

Betty Tompkins

Women Words #44 (Weegee)

2017

Acrylic on paper

11.5 x 9 inches

Inquire
Betty Tompkins, Women Words (Vermeer #3)

Betty Tompkins

Women Words (Vermeer #3)

2017

Acrylic on paper

10.5 x 8.5 inches

Inquire
Betty Tompkins, Women Words #99 (Avedon #4)

Betty Tompkins

Women Words #99 (Avedon #4)

2018

Acrylic on paper

12.5 x 9.25 inches

Inquire
Betty Tompkins, Women Words (Velázquez #1)

Betty Tompkins

Women Words (Velázquez #1)

2018

Acrylic on paper

10.4 x 9.4 inches

Inquire
Betty Tompkins, Women Words #50 (Weegee)

Betty Tompkins

Women Words #50 (Weegee)

2017

Acrylic on paper

11.5 x 9 inches

Inquire
Betty Tompkins, Women Words (Tintoretto #1)

Betty Tompkins

Women Words (Tintoretto #1)

2018

Acrylic on paper

10.4 x 9.4 inches

Inquire
Hans-Peter Feldmann, Woman with Lipstick

Hans-Peter Feldmann

Woman with Lipstick

n.d.

Oil on canvas, framed

29.1 x 24.8 inches

Inquire
Mike Kelley, Reconstructed History

Mike Kelley

Reconstructed History

1989

Gelatin silver prints; 17 parts

10 x 8 inches (each)

Inquire
Hans-Peter Feldmann, Nude with Man Ray Marks

Hans-Peter Feldmann

Nude with Man Ray Marks

n.d.

Oil on canvas, framed

31.5 x 44 inches

Inquire
John Stezaker, Tears XI

John Stezaker

Tears XI

2018

Found painting and collage

17.8 x 19.9 inches

Inquire
John Stezaker, Tear

John Stezaker

Tear

2014 - 2018

Found painting and collage

20.1 x 15.9 inches

Inquire
John Stezaker, Tears IX

John Stezaker

Tears IX

2018

Found painting and collage

16 x 20 inches

Inquire
Lee Krasner, Present Subjunctive

Lee Krasner

Present Subjunctive

1976

Collage on linen

31 x 71 inches

Inquire
Lee Krasner, Past Conditional

Lee Krasner

Past Conditional

1976

Collage on canvas

27 x 49 inches

Inquire
Daniel Spoerri, Attention: chien méchant

Daniel Spoerri

Attention: chien méchant

1962

Détrompe l’oeil on canvas

21.3 x 17.7 x 3.9 inches

Inquire
Daniel Spoerri, Les amoreux (Le monument)

Daniel Spoerri

Les amoreux (Le monument)

1962

Détrompe l’oeil assemblage

41.3 x 18.5 inches

Inquire
Enrico Baj, The Whore with the Ultra-bodies

Enrico Baj

The Whore with the Ultra-bodies

1959

Oil, collage, padding, glass, and passementerie on readymade canvas

36.2 x 28.7 inches

Inquire
Enrico Baj, Come Here, You Fair Girl

Enrico Baj

Come Here, You Fair Girl

1959

Oil, collage, padding, glass, decoration, fabric on readymade canvas

35.4 x 41.3 inches

Inquire
Julian Schnabel, And there was somebody wiping his tears with his flag V

Julian Schnabel

And there was somebody wiping his tears with his flag V

2012

Inkjet print, oil, ink on polyester

118 x 80 inches

Inquire
Enrico Baj, Ultrabody in Switzerland

Enrico Baj

Ultrabody in Switzerland

1959

Oil, collage, padding on readymade canvas

47.2 x 31.5 inches

Inquire
Vidya Gastaldon, Healing Painting (Rescue me B)

Vidya Gastaldon

Healing Painting (Rescue me B)

2015

Oil on vintage framed paint

24.75 x 32.7 inches

Inquire
Vidya Gastaldon, Healing Painting (Vers de Ciel)

Vidya Gastaldon

Healing Painting (Vers de Ciel)

2016

Oil on vintage framed paint

15.75 x 21.7 inches

Inquire
Jacqueline de Jong, Reine de Sable touched by Pollock

Jacqueline de Jong

Reine de Sable touched by Pollock

2017

Pigment print on canvas, oil stick, and nepheline gel

35.4 x 24.4 inches

Inquire
Jacqueline de Jong, 7Four7 Returned to the ground

Jacqueline de Jong

7Four7 Returned to the ground

2017

Pigment print on canvas, oil stick, and nepheline gel

35.43 x 24.41 inches

Inquire
Jacqueline de Jong, Eigenheimer's first encounter

Jacqueline de Jong

Eigenheimer's first encounter

2017

Pigment print on canvas, oil stick, and nepheline gel

35.4 x 24.4 inches

Inquire
Rachel Harrison, The Classics

Rachel Harrison

The Classics

2018

Colored pencil, marker, India ink, and gouache over pigmented inkjet print

22 x 17 inches

Inquire
Rachel Harrison, The Classics

Rachel Harrison

The Classics

2018

Colored pencil, marker, India ink, and gouache over pigmented inkjet print

17 x 11 inches

Inquire
Rachel Harrison, The Classics

Rachel Harrison

The Classics

2018

Colored pencil, marker, India ink, and gouache over pigmented inkjet print

17 x 11 inches

Inquire
Jim Shaw, The Old Masturbator and the Far Away Hills

Jim Shaw

The Old Masturbator and the Far Away Hills

2019

Oil on canvas

20 x 30 inches

Inquire
Gedi Sibony, Still Life with Eggs

Gedi Sibony

Still Life with Eggs

2018

Oil on oil painting

15.9 x 20 inches

Inquire
Gedi Sibony, Scarecrow

Gedi Sibony

Scarecrow

2018

Oil on oil painting

40 x 30 inches

Inquire
Gedi Sibony, Brown Bottles

Gedi Sibony

Brown Bottles

2018

Oil on oil painting

16 x 20 inches

Inquire

Press Release

If you have old paintings, do not despair. Retain your memories but detourn them so that they correspond with your era. Why reject the old, if one can modernize it? —Asger Jorn

Petzel is pleased to announce Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modifications Paintings. Situated in the context of the first thrift store paintings altered by Danish artist Asger Jorn, this group show of over 30 prominent international artists investigates multifarious appropriation methods spanning from the mid-1960s to the flourishing techniques of the 1980s, up to the present day.

But flashback to Paris, 1959: Asger Jorn exhibits a group of paintings at the prominent Galerie Rive Gauche. Not only has he re-worked these found paintings with his own brush, modifying their respective surfaces, but he also writes a text describing his technique as a recovery of certain iconographic archetypes. Instead of making a mockery of these kitsch paintings, he articulates some of their inherent folk-art values. The exhibition is not well received. However, it has since become legendary. Jorn’s modifications have long been a neglected chapter in the Danish artist’s biography. Yet from today’s perspective these high/low hermaphrodites are recognized by keen-eyed viewers as mirrors reflecting the historicity of modern painting.

Such “Modifications” are a painterly version of  “détournement,” a Situationist technique, described in 1956 by Guy Debord and Gil Wolman as the systematic revaluation of “prefabricated aesthetic products.” For Jorn, who co-founded and financially supported the Situationist International, the 1959 Galerie Rive Gauche exhibition, showcased his implementation of a fundamental aesthetic critique in which he appropriates a relatively discredited artistic source as “his” own material, then applies his iconography, and his language to that particular prefabricated model.

Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modification Paintings features works by Enrico Baj, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Vidya Gastaldon, Wade Guyton/Stephen Prina, Rachel Harrison, Ray Johnson, Jacqueline de Jong, Asger Jorn, Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger, Per Kirkeby, Lee Krasner, Albert Oehlen, Francis Picabia, Stephen Prina, R.H. Quaytman, Arnulf Rainer, Julian Schnabel, Jim Shaw, Gedi Sibony, Alexis Smith, Daniel Spoerri, John Stezaker, Betty Tompkins, and David Wojnarowicz.

A comprehensive book on Strategic Vandalism: The Legacy of Asger Jorn’s Modifications Paintings is forthcoming with texts written and edited by the curators as well as reprinted articles on the subjects of détournement, vandalism, and the relationship between modifications and appropriation art in the late 1970s.

Petzel Gallery is located at 456 West 18th Street New York, NY 10011. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM–6:00 PM. For press inquires, please contact Ricky Lee at ricky@petzel.com, or call (212) 680-9467.