Jacobsen was self-taught as a sculptor and graphic artist. His earliest sculptures were figures in wood and stone, including a series of Fabulous Beasts, the shape of which was inspired by the encounter with Asger Jorn in the 1940s. In 1947, Jacobsen went to Paris, where he settled and became linked to the Galerie Denise René. That same year he began to work in iron, and he left the closed form, moving instead to open iron constructions of rivetted elements. These non-figurative sculptures, which at first were painted black, are a kind of spatial drawing, characterized by simplicity and rhythmical elegance. During the 1950s Jacobsen developed small, imaginative, humanoid figures of scrap, dolls, which were inspired by the African art he himself collected. Later, he incorporated colors into his constructivist sculptures, and about 1965 he started on large-scale relief’s in wood and iron. In addition, he undertook a large number of official adornments in Denmark and abroad. Alongside his sculptural work, Jacobsen went in for colored graphics. He lived in France until 1969 and was a professor at the Academies of Fine Arts in Munich (1962-1981) and Copenhagen (1976-1985). Jacobsen has been exhibited worldwide and outdoor sculptures by Jacobsen can be found worldwide in Counties like: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, South Korea, Germany, Holland, Brazil and United states.
Exhibitions:
Gallery de France, Paris : 1957-58, 1963, 1965
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles: 1954
International Sculpture, Guggenheim Foundation, New York. : 1965
Didrichsenin Taidemuseo, Helsinki. Finland : 1975
Musée des Beaux-Art i Rennes, France : 1984
la sculpture modern på Centre Pompidou, Paris : 1986
Cartier, New York: 1988
Puskin museum, Moscow: 1989
Musée Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis: 1992
Musée de Rode. Centre d’Art Contemporain: 1992
Saint-Priest. Centre d’Action Culturel et Musée d’Evreux: 1992
Auction Prices:
Robert Jacobsen is listed in artprice.com where his sculptures have been sold for $57,495. (Sotheby’s, New York. 07-11-1990. Lot No: 114)
Øbro Art Gallery 