The Sun is Pissing Me Off

In a triangular composition, typical of Jorn's work at the time, the torso and head of a figure towers. The figure is a bearded person, his right hand extending into the image. This lump-like hand, incapable of grabbing, pointing, or touching, immediately catches our eye with its vivid orange/red colours. On the left shoulder peculiar creatures emerge, and the sun is at the top. Otherwise, the language of hands in this painting belongs to Asger Jorn's own hand: it determines the contents with its expressive brushstrokes, hatchings, impasto and sheer layers, untouched areas, and strong colours. Jorn was one of the driving forces behind the international CoBrA movement, which was inspired by e.g. children's drawings and primitive art. Around 1960 the artist created a number of works possessed of great ferocity. Perhaps the painting is a portrait of one of the other CoBrA painters, Jacques Doucet, who created a painting bearing the same title around the same time.