Background
Richard Mortensen was born on October 23, 1910 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Richard Mortensen trained at the Royal Academy of Beaux-Arts in his native town from 1931 - 1932, before he decided to be self-taught.
Richard Mortensen trained at the Royal Academy of Beaux-Arts in his native town from 1931 - 1932, before he decided to be self-taught.
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1948
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1990
Richard Mortensen was born on October 23, 1910 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Richard Mortensen trained at the Royal Academy of Beaux-Arts in his native town from 1931 - 1932, before he decided to be self-taught.
In the beginning of the 30’s, Richard Mortensen went to Berlin; he had a particular interest for the works of Kandinsky and Joan Miro and was directed towards the Bauhaus, constructivism and surrealism. Mortensen practiced a spontaneous painting, between abstraction and representation, and then evolved towards constructions more rigorous and rhythmical.
Little by little, his works became radically geometric. From the beginning of his artistic career, Richard Mortensen constructed, at the same time as his painted works, important graphic works. The artist played, in Denmark, a premier role in making modern art known to the public; he founded the revue ‘Linien’ (The Line), a revue which grouped painters that endeavoured to stay in touch with the artists in all of Europe during these troubled years.
After the Second World War, the artist joined the group ‘Helhesten’ a group that was led by Asger Jorn and that cast the preliminary bases that became ‘Cobra’. The art of Richard Mortensen, geometric abstraction of perfect precision, would quickly distance itself from this movement.
The artist moved to France, to Suresnes, in 1947 where he stayed for 15 years; he lived, with the sculptor Robert Jacobsen, in the House of Danish artists, and became a close compatriot to the artists at the Denise René Gallery (Herbin, Vasarely, etc.). Mortensen participated in numerous group exhibitions in France (Réalités Nouvelles, Salon de Mai, etc.) and abroad (the Venice Biennale, Documenta de Kassel, Stockholm, Helsinki, Brussels, Rio de Janeiro, etc.) and exposed, under an individual title, regularly with Denise René.
The art of Mortensen was characterized by their clarity and simplicity of forms that were carried out by their dynamic relationship, with a variety of colors that were especially delicate and bright. Richard Mortensen died at the beginning of 1993 in Denmark.
Richard Mortensen adhered to the artistic traditions of Concrete Art (Concretism).
In Copenhagen, Mortensen was joint founder of the "Linien" school of abstract painters.
During 1945 - 1947 Richard was married to the writer Sonja Hauberg.
