Hilma af Klint: Future Paintings

Hilma af Klint, a Swedish artist who lived from 1862 to 1944, left behind a remarkable legacy of over 1,000 paintings and works on paper that were largely kept private during her lifetime. Believing the world was not yet ready for her art, she stipulated that it should remain unseen for another 20 years after her death. However, only in recent decades has the public been given the opportunity to engage with af Klint's radically abstract painting practice, which predates the work of Vasily Kandinsky and other artists widely considered trailblazers of modernist abstraction.

Af Klint's boldly colorful works, many of them large-scale, reflect an ambitious and spiritually informed attempt to chart an invisible, totalizing world order through a synthesis of natural and geometric forms, textual elements, and esoteric symbolism. Accompanying the first major survey exhibition of the artist's work in the United States, "Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future" presents her groundbreaking painting series while expanding recent scholarship to provide a comprehensive understanding of her life and art.

The essays in this volume explore the social, intellectual, and artistic context of af Klint's 1906 break with figuration and her subsequent development, placing her work in the context of Swedish modernism and folk art traditions, contemporary scientific discoveries, and spiritualist and occult movements. Additionally, a roundtable discussion among contemporary artists, scholars, and curators considers af Klint's sources and her relevance to art in the 21st century.

The volume also delves into af Klint's unrealized plans for a spiral-shaped temple in which to display her art, a wish that finds a fortuitous answer in the Guggenheim Museum's rotunda, the site of the exhibition. Hilma af Klint is now regarded as a pioneer of abstract art, as her paintings from the early 20th century predates the first purely abstract paintings by Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Malevich.

The mystical magnetism of af Klint's daring abstractions has captivated audiences and scholars alike, and the publication of "Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future" represents a significant contribution to the ongoing reevaluation and appreciation of her groundbreaking artistic legacy. Through this volume, readers are invited to delve into the extraordinary world of Hilma af Klint, a visionary artist whose work continues to resonate with contemporary audiences and challenge our understanding of the origins of abstract art.

product information: