Born in Copenhagen. Haugen Sørensen had little training in art apart from evening courses in drawing and, after he arrived in Paris in 1950, brief introductions to etching and lithography in the schools run by Stanley William Hayter and Johnny Friedlander.
Like his younger brother, Jørgen Haugen Sørensen, he was essentially self-taught as an artist.

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He debuted in 1953, at Kunsterners efterårsudstilling, thereafter regularly exhibiting at the Charlottenborg autumn exhibition and from 1967 at Grønningen. He also exhibited frequently in Paris, beginning with the 9e Salon de la Jeune Peinture in 1958.

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A long stay in Mallorca in 1962-63 enhanced his painting, inspired by bright light, colour and the underwater world he experienced as a diver. His early works appear rather abstract but he increasingly introduced animals and human figures. His work also benefited from his encounters with Asger Jorn, Echaurren Matta and Antonio Saura whom he met at the Clot et George workshop run by Peter Bramsen.

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By the time he moved back to Denmark in 1967, Haugen Sørensen had developed his own style of Expressionist figurative painting in vivid colours, ironically presenting man's animal instincts and the absurdity of life. In the 1970s, he began to use acrylics, often with several layers of paint, in works including Pastorale med indbyggede katastrofer (1975), Dyr og damer (1979) and Frokost i det grønne (1979). Many of his works depict a predator pursuing a female victim, contrasting fear with aggression.

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Since the 1980s, Haugen Sørensen has become one of Denmark's most productive religious artists, decorating more than 25 churches with forceful, provocative works in a variety of art forms including painting, frescos, stained glass, ceramics and sculpture. His subjects include the Binding of Isaac, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection and the Supper at Emmaus.

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Since 1981, Haugen Sørensen has lived with his wife, the ceramist Dorthe Steenbuch Krabbe, near Málaga in Spain. Now in his 80s, he is still an active artist.

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WORKS IN PUBLIC SPACE

Aarhus Akademi

The airport in Karup

The danish Institute in Rome

Folketeatret in Copenhagen

I.C.Train

Ladegårdsparken, Holbæk

Folkehøjskolen, Nr. Nissum, Jutland

Copenhagen Business School

Mosaic, University in Odense

Gable decoration, Kalundborg

Ceramic relief, Herredsåsen, Kalundborg

Rets og Kulturudvalgssalen, Christiansborg, Copenhagen

Vartov, Copenhagen

Østre Landsret, Copenhagen

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COLLECTIONS

Arne Haugen Sørensen Museum 

Statens Museum for KunstARoS
Aarhus Kunstmuseum
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum
Fyns Kynstmuseum
Trapholt
Vejle Kunstmuseum
Esbjerg Kunstpavillon
Diputación Provincial de Córdoba
Diputación Provincial de Jaén
CAAM – Centro Atlantico de Arte Moderno

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FILM AND RADIO

Vandringsmanden, Marie Breyen, 2018

"Mit arbejde er mit liv", Cecilie Frøkjær besøger AHS til en snak om erindringsbogen. 

Sørensens paradis, Adrian Hughes,1995
Besøgstid. Karen Secher, Danmarks radio, 2008

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hans Edvard Nørregaard-Nielsen: Arne Haugen Sørensen, Gyldendal, 1976
Dansk Kunsthistorie, Bd. 10. S. 24 – 26, Kunstbogklubben, 1996
Leo Tandrup: Mefistos Mareridt, Centrum, 1997
Leo Tandrup: Et Hug i Brystet, Centrum, 1998
Lisbeth Smedegård Andersen: Mytens forladte huse, samleren, 1999
Peder Svejgaard Pedersen, Karin Friis Plum, A. H. S. og Lisbeth
Smedegaard Andersen: Hænder. Fr. G. Knutzons Bogtrykkeri A/S, 1999
Lisbeth Smedegaard Andersen: Mytens forladte huse, 2000
Lisbeth Smedegaard Andersen, Ebbe kløvedal Reich, Arne Haugen
Sørensen: Med Indbygget Katastrofe, Museet af Religiøs Kunst, Lemvig, 2001
Ebbe Kløvedal Reich: Billeder af Jesus, Forlaget Anis, 2001
Ole Lindboe: Skønheden og Udyret, Gads Forlag, 2002
Anne-Mette Gravgaard: Tro-Rum-Billede, Landsforeninger af
menighedsrådsmedlemmers forlag, 2002
Arne Haugen Sørensen og Leo Tandrup: Samtaler På En Bjergtop,
Hovedland, 2002
Leo Tandrup: Moderne Danske Kunstværker, Hovedland , 2003
Lise Godtfredsen: Gennem billedernes spejl, Århus Universitetsforlag, 2005
Rolf Læssøe: Arne Haugen Sørensen, Malerier 1962 – 2006, Thanning
og Appel, 2007
Arne Haugen Sørensen: Landskabet Bag Mig, Autobiografi, Thanning og
Appel, 2007
Arne Haugen Sørensen og Søren Nielsen: Den Store Passion,
Bibelselskabets Forlag, 2009
Ingeborg Bugge: Kærlighedens Hænder to, Listasavn Føroya – 2009
I Myternes Spejl, Nivaagaard, 2010
Lisbeth Smedegaard Andersen: Arne Haugen Sørensens Kirkekunst,
Bibelselskabets forlag, 2011
Den Passionerede, 2012
Ole Lindboe: Genfundne Myter, Augustiana, 2013

  

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