Jens Jacob Herring Krog Jensen was born in Fynen, Jutland, Denmark in 1898. He graduated from Ryslinge and Askov Academy in Jutland and came to the United States in 1927 where, within a year, he had settled in the Cincinnati area and taken a position as a decorator at the Rookwood Pottery.

Jensen remained with Rookwood until 1948 and managed to build up an impressive list of art credits during that time, including representing the United States in ceramics at the Golden Gate Exposition (1940s) and exhibitions at the Cincinnati Art Museum and Modern Art Society.

The Cincinnati Art Museum also has some of Jensen's work in their permanent collection as does the Riverside Museum (New York). In the spring of 1970, Closson's Art Gallery in Cincinnati held an exhibition of Jensen's paintings, bringing his work to the private collector via a different medium than Rookwood. Jens Jensen died on January 30, 1978 in Maysville, Kentucky.

Studied
Ryslinge a
d Askov Academy

Exhibited
Ceramics at the Golden Gate Exposition; paintings at Riverside Museum, New York; Cincinnati Art Museum; Modern Art Society; Traveling Ceramic Show; Closson Gallery, 1970; Merida Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky, 1978.

Resources
Rookwood Pottery Potpourri, Cummins; The Book of Rookwood

Jens Jensen (1895 - 1978) came to the United States from Denmark in 1927. After arriving in Cincinnati, he joined the Rookwood Pottery Company and soon became known as the company's modernist. In 1931, he married fellow Rookwood artist Elizabeth Barrett (1903-1987). Jensen and Barrett moved to Ripley, Ohio when Rookwood closed in 1948. Over the next thirty years, Jensen created an impressive body of paintings that are now in prestigious public and private collections all over the world. This exhibition provides a candid insight into the images and themes Jensen revered and includes some paintings that have not been seen by the public.

Jensen was a shy man, yet he also had a rather volatile personality. The need to create consumed him, and he often painted on rocks and scraps of newsprint when paper and canvas were not available. Jensen's subjects range from nudes, animals, and flowers to abstract patterns. He also created many striking portraits of women who are usually depicted with dark hair and large eyes. His paintings are characterized by bright colors and thick black outlines, lending a somewhat abstract and segmented quality to even his representational work. Jensen was aware of and inspired by the artists and artistic movements of his time. His work shows strong influence from Modigliani, Picasso, and Rouault. Though Jensen absorbed many techniques from these artists, his work reflects a combination of Scandinavian, central and southern European, and American artistic traditions that is all his own.