Casa Museo Jorn: nature, architecture, art, research

All of Jorn's artistic expressions in one fantastic environment: mural paintings, collages of ceramics from every era, outdoor stone and marble sculptures. A garden overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, rich in floral species, plants, and aromatic essences. A blend of natural sounds and scents, among ancient terraces and colorful walls.

Welcome to Asger Jorn's home

It was in 1954 when Asger Jorn, an internationally renowned Danish painter, arrived in Albissola with his partner Matie and their 4 children. Enrico Baj and Sergio Dangelo from the Nuclear Art Movement invited him, thinking that the intellectual and human context of Albissola and the mild climate of the Mediterranean could benefit Jorn's precarious health and economy. After living in various accommodations scattered throughout the town, in 1957 Jorn had the financial means to purchase the house that 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 neglect. With the help of Umberto (Berto) Gambetta, a skilled worker from Albissola, in a few years the house, the studio, and the garden were transformed into a welcoming, lush place full of life, art, and poetry.

Space and material for a total art

Jorn conceived art and architecture as an organic combination of space, forms, spontaneous colors, free and lively, capable of improving the lives of people and the community. Jorn respected nature, animals, children, and gladly shared moments of celebration and relaxation with them and friends, alternating with his 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 construction works, the implementation was entrusted to Berto. The ceramics, sculptures, and paintings were directly created by Jorn and installed with Berto's help. To cover the external floors, Giovanni Poggi (the lathe operator at the San Giorgio factory where Jorn worked with ceramics) arranged for a truckload of colorful tiles from the Artistic Ceramics 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 for outdoor dining. Berto, assisted by his nephew Angelo, leveled the ground, built retaining walls for the terraces to be cultivated, maintained the vegetable garden, orchard, and vineyard. He also renovated and modified the buildings, making them suitable for Jorn and his family's needs.

In 1973, Asger Jorn bequeathed his house to the Municipality of Albissola Marina, with the desire for it to become a museum and a reference point for the people of Albissola. After the deaths of Berto Gambetta and Teresa Saettone, life beneficiaries according to the Danish's testamentary indications, and following a rapid obsolescence and deterioration of the garden, a long and complex restoration and museum operation began in 2000, culminating in 2014 with the reopening of the site as the Casa Museo Jorn.