The Artistic Journey of Mogens Gissel
Born in Odder, Denmark, Mogens Gissel was a self-taught painter who began his professional training as an advertising designer at Weber & Sørensen in Aarhus. His early years were marked by a nomadic spirit; he traveled across Europe on a moped to visit art museums, including the Prado in Madrid, and visited Mont Sainte-Victoire in Southern France. Following his training, he began teaching drawing, painting, and art history at the Aarhus Kunstakademi. Throughout much of his career, he was associated with Galleri Profilen in Aarhus, maintaining a highly uncompromising approach to the presentation of his work.
Style and Subject Matter
Gissel’s technical evolution saw him move from experimental compositions with visible brushstrokes in the 1960s toward works featuring monochromatic surfaces and reduced pictorial signs. His repertoire included figurative, color-muted images of Christiania, Thylejren, and the circus world. He often focused on the edges of the picture plane, creating works where central naturalist motifs gradually transitioned into abstraction toward the borders. His frequent subjects included the stool, the stamp, the bowl, the cup, and the lamp. He utilized various materials, such as canvas, paper, wood, and masonite, often working with a palette of green, ochre, umber, and beige.
