Casa Jornè: nature, architecture, art, research

All of Jorn's artistic expressions in one fantastic setting: wall paintings, collages of ceramics from all eras, outdoor stone and marble sculptures. A garden overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, rich in floral species, plants and aromatic essences. A mix of natural sounds and scents, among the ancient bands and colored walls.

Welcome to Asger Jorn's home

It was 1954 when Asger Jorn, an internationally renowned Danish painter, arrived in Albissola, together with his partner Matie and their 4 children. Enrico Baj and Sergio Dangelo of the Nuclear Art Movement invited him, thinking that the intellectual and human context of Albisola and the mild climate of the Mediterranean could have benefited Jorn's precarious health and economy. After having lived in various accommodations scattered around the town, in 1957 Jorn had the financial resources to purchase that house which would become a true work of art. First he bought the house (east side) and, shortly after, the building used as a studio (west side). Both the buildings and the land were in a state of abandonment and neglect. With the help of Umberto (Berto) Gambetta, a skilled worker from Albisola, in a few years the house, studio and garden were transformed into a welcoming, lush place, full of life, art and poetry.

Space and matter for total art

Jorn conceived of art and architecture as an organic set of spontaneous, free and lively space, shapes, colors capable of improving the lives of people and the community. Jorn respected nature, animals, children and willingly shared moments of celebration and relaxation with them and with friends which he alternated with tenacious artistic and intellectual commitment. Every work of art or decoration inside and outside the house was decided by Jorn. In the case of walls, floors and building works, the installation was entrusted to Berto. The ceramics, sculptures and paintings were made directly by Jorn and installed with the help of Berto. To cover the external floors, Giovanni Poggi (the potter of the San Giorgio factory where Jorn worked the ceramics) had a truck of colored tiles delivered from the Ceramiche Artistiche of Santa Margherita Ligure. Berto brought some large ceramic electrical insulators from the factory where he worked, which Jorn used as pedestals to display his sculptures in the garden, or as tables on which to eat outdoors. Berto, helped by his nephew Angelo, leveled the land, built the retaining walls for the terraces to be cultivated, maintained the vegetable garden, the orchard and the vineyard. He also renovated and modified the buildings, making them suitable for the needs of Jorn and his family.

In 1973, Asger Jorn bequeathed his house to the Municipality of Albissola Marina, with the desire that it could become a museum and a place of reference for the people of Albissola. After the death of Berto Gambetta and Teresa Saettone, natural beneficiaries during life according to the instructions of the Dane's will, and following the rapid obsolescence and deterioration of the garden, a long and complex restoration and museum operation began in 2000, which ended in 2014 with the reopening of the site as “Casa Museo Jorn”.