When Jørgen was invited to participate on the II international biennale of Óbidos, north of Lisboa in 1989 the occasion evoked a long relationship with Alentejo. It became 30 years in Portugal, a place reminding him of his childhood, a place where eternity is always present.

Jørgen loved Portugal and its gentle population, receiving him without any reservations. Many public works were produced here, Francisco Ramos, the owner of the stone quarry Granitos de Maceira in Alpalhão, welcomed Jorgen to come and work. In the beginning, directly in the quarry, later inside at the factory of Singranova.

Antonio Pedroso was the daily leader of Granito de Maceira and he could deliver any size and format Jorgen could possibly want for his monumental pieces. The quarry brought enormous blocks to the surface. It is still the biggest quarry in Europe, today in the hands of Filstone Natural.

In the beginning Jorgen brought his stone carver Jan Guldbransen, who worked with Jorgen from 1987-1997, but when the monumental sculpture for Sankt Hans Torv was due in 1992 the sculptor Eric Bruun Mortensen was brought to work together with Jan, directly in the quarry.

The last work Jørgen did with Granitos de Maceira and Singranova was the huge Amager Stone finished in 2011. Carved out by Oleg Zhytaryuk, Eugénio Camilo and others.

I have looked through Jorgen’s archive and books and to my surprise realised did 20 granite sculptures here in Alentejo.  Of these are 15 monumental works and 5 large stone models.
Plus, a series of 25-30 stone tables.

The Sculptures are: 

1. The Ikast Stone, 1989-90, Frisenborg Skulpturpark (Frisenborg Sculpture Park), Ikast, Denmark.
2. The one Who Apparently Supports, 1991-92, Frisenborg Skulpturpark (Frisenborg Sculpture Park), Ikast, Denmark.
3. An Experience Less, 1991-92, Aarhus State High School, Aarhus, Denmark.
4. The Condition, 1992, Allerød Sculpture Park, Allerød, Denmark.
5. Model for The House That Rains, 1992, private collection.
6. The House that Rains, 1992-93, Sankt Hans Torv, Copenhagen, Denmark.
7. Model for The Ship, The Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art, 1994, Lund, Sweden.
8. Model for The Weight, The Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art, 1994, Lund, Sweden.
9. Model for The Walls, The Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art, 1994, Lund, Sweden.
10. The Ship, 1994, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden.
11. The Weight, 1994, The University of Lund, Sweden.
12. The Walls, 1994, The University of Lund, Sweden.
13. Carving space, 1997, Allerød Sculpture Park, Allerød, Denmark.
14. The Alentejo Stone, 2001, Castelo de Vide, Portugal.
15. Cuba, 2002, private collection.
16. The Royal Thought, 2004-05, Sct. Catharinæ Church, Hjørring, Denmark.
17. The Rest, 2008, private collection.
18. The model for the Stone to Amager, 2009.
19. The Stone to Amager, 2011, Kastrup Strand park, Kastrup, Denmark.
20. Supplement to the Titles Elimination, 2012, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, United Kingdom.

The Alentejo stone was a project of collaboration. The then mayor of Castlo de Vide, Joaquim Canario, was inaugurating the new park of 25 April in Castelo de Vide and to this occasion the Alentejo stone came to be.

Jorgen gave the sculpture model; Francisco Ramos gave the stone whereas it was the town of Castelo de Vide who gave the work. But I must also mention the skills of Antonio Vivas and Paolo Escarameia from Singranova who managed the work to the last detail.

When the collaboration with Jan Guldbrandsen ended in 1997, new carvers needed to be found and it was Francisco Ramos who presented us to three Cuban sculptors, who somehow changed Alpalhão, with different music, dancing and a true Cuban spirit. The sculpture “Cuba” was carved out in black Angola Granite before the three sculptors returned to Cuba. But Roberto came back and carved out the Royal Thought, before we helped him to get to Florida where he lives and work today.

Jorgen also exhibited in Portugal, in Castelo de Vide, but also Mae d’Aguas in Lisbon, and in Gaia, Porto 2001.

Eli Benveniste