The artist Sergej Jensen investigates the tradition of painting in art history through the various cultural systems that have modified it to this day, from modernist avant-gardes that sought to move away from canonical methods of representation to contemporary approaches that use different techniques and materials. In addition to paint and brush, Jensen uses a range of fabrics and objects, often recycled, to create multiple images through sewing, patching, fraying, stretching, staining, and even chemically or physically removing pigments from fabrics. His images often transit between abstraction and figuration, blurring the boundaries between these categories, as seen in Blue Surfer, where color stains divide the space into three horizontal sections with varying hues, forming the incomplete silhouette of a human figure. Thicker masses of paint cover seams and small sequins to create a mesh-like pattern that resembles lace, marking a dual relationship between paint and fabric. The pattern also generates a geometrized design on the background – brighter at the top and darker at the base – concealing the human figure. There is a certain eroticism in not fully seeing the figure, which is enhanced by the presence of the lace. As suggested by the title, the viewer's imagination is drawn to the image of a surfer's body carrying a surfboard under his arm.

—Matheus de Andrade, research assistant, MASP, 2023

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