February 20–May 19, 2024

Fun & Games? Leo Jensen’s Pop Art

  • The Museum will be closed November 28 & 29 for the holiday.

  • Leo Jensen (1926–2019), Baseball Machine, 1963. Painted wood, mixed media kinetic sculpture, 90 x 76 x 23 in. Collection of the Artist.

  • Leo Jensen (1926–2019), Secrets of a Home Run Hitter, 1964. Polychromed wood and mixed media assemblage (electric), 39 x 40 x 8 in. Collection of the Artist.

  • Leo Jensen (1926–2019), The Lure of the Turf, 1963. Wood, steel, 90 x 63 x 22 1/2 in. Collection of the Artist.

  • Leo Jensen (1926–2019), Make Way for Yesterday, 1982. Mixed media relief sculpture, 75 x 32 x 13 in. Florence Griswold Museum, Gift of Dalia Ramanauskas in memory of Leo Jensen, 2021.14

  • William Grover, Leo Jensen with model for Thread City Crossing frog sculpture at his Ivoryton workshop, 1995. Collection of the Artist.

Pop artist Leo Jensen (1926–2019) turned a winking eye on America, producing irreverent art that is nevertheless serious in its cultural observations. Known best regionally for his bronze frog sculptures on the Thread City Crossing Bridge in Willimantic, CT, Jensen infused his work with humor as well as thought-provoking reflections on modern American society. His paintings, sculptures, and assemblages of recycled materials borrow from the signs and symbols he saw in his youth, when he traveled as a fancy horseback rider in Depression-era circuses and rodeos, and developed further when he moved to Connecticut after art school.

Jensen embraced Pop Art in the early 1960s for its unpretentious address of a popular audience using glamorous, gimmicky, and mass-produced images borrowed from the commercial and advertising worlds. He fused them in witty ways and made an innovative contribution to Pop through his incorporation of moving parts into his sculptures that encourage viewer interaction.

Organized in collaboration with Jensen’s widow, artist Dalia Ramanauskas, and with Lyman Allyn Art Museum, which will present its own companion exhibition on Jensen at the same time (titled Art in Play, on view February 10–April 14), Fun & Games will be the first in decades to consider Jensen’s playful yet probing art in depth.

Learn more about the Member Reciprocal Collaboration with Lyman Allyn Art Museum

  • Show your Florence Griswold Museum Membership card at the Lyman Allyn to enjoy free admission and the exhibition Art in Play: Leo Jensen.
  • Show your Lyman Allyn Membership card at the Florence Griswold Museum to enjoy free admission and the exhibition Fun and Games? Leo Jensen’s Pop Art.
  • Lyman Allyn Members and Florence Griswold Members will receive FREE admission at each other’s organization for the number of people on their Membership.

Valid February 10 through May 19. A valid Membership card and photo ID are required.

Members of both organizations will receive a 10% discount in each Museum’s Gift Shop and Member pricing for all Leo Jensen exhibition programming during the February 10– May 19 duration.

Become a Member of the Florence Griswold Museum today to receive these benefits (click here)…

We wish to share with you other upcoming exhibitions throughout Connecticut highlighting the work of Leo Jensen, Dalia Ramanauskas, and other artists of their circle.

The Mattatuck Museum presents Dalia Ramanauskas: As We Embark, January 14–March 10.

The Ely Center of Contemporary Art presents Avant Colony: Unearthing the Westbrook Gallery, February 1–March 31.

 

#LeoJensen

Fun & Games? Leo Jensen’s Pop Art has been made possible by generous support from CT Humanities, the Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts, HSB, The David T. Langrock Foundation, WSHU Public Radio, The Aeroflex Foundation, Mrs. Barbara Smith, Mr. Wayne Harms & Mrs. Barbara Harms, Mr. Jeb Embree & Mrs. Dianne Embree, as well as donors to the Annual Fund.

Take a virtual tour of the exhibition!