Hilma Af Klint

A groundbreaking study of visionary artist Hilma af Klint. When Swedish artist Hilma af Klint died in 1944 at the age of 81, she left behind more than a thousand paintings and works on paper that she kept largely 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. But only in recent decades has the public had a chance to reckon with af Klint's radically abstract painting practice - one which predates the work of Vasily Kandinsky and other artists widely considered trailblazers of modernist abstraction. Accompanying the first major survey exhibition of the artist's work in the United States, Hilma af Klint represents her groundbreaking painting series while expanding recent scholarship to present the fullest picture yet of the artist's life and work. Essays explore the social, intellectual, and artistic milieu of af Klint's 1906 break with figuration and her subsequent development, placing her in the context of Swedish modernism and folk art traditions, contemporary scientific discoveries, and spiritualist and occult movements. A roundtable discussion among contemporary artists, scholars, and curators considers af Klint's sources and relevance to art in the 21st century. The volume also delves into her 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 forthcoming exhibition.

"At the turn of the twentieth century, Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) created a body of work that left visible reality behind, exploring the radical possibilities of abstraction years before Vasily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, or Piet Mondrian. Many consider her the first trained artist to create abstract paintings. With Hilma af Klint: Notes and Methods, we get to experience the arc of af Klint's artistic investigation in her own words. Notes and Methods presents facsimile reproductions of a wide array of af Klint's early notebooks accompanied by the first English translation of af Klint's extensive writings. It contains the rarely seen "Blue Notebooks", hand-painted and annotated catalogues af Klint created of her most famous series "Paintings for the Temple", and a dictionary compiled by af Klint of the words and letters found in her work. This extraordinary collection is edited by and copublished with Christine Burgin, and features an introduction by Iris Müller-Westermann. It will stand as an important and timely contribution to the legacy of Hilma af Klint." --> s spletne str. založnika.

Once considered an outsider artist, after her show at the Guggenheim Museum was seen by more than half-a-mil-lion visitors, Hilma af Klint firmly established her place in art history. She has also been the subject of documenta-ry films and biographies. In 2013, Iris Müller-Westermann organized the first institutional exhibition of af Klint's work. Now she presents us with the latest information and research in an extensive survey show at the Moder-na Museet in Malmö. Of crucial importance is the issue of spirituality in af Klint's painting-how she managed to translate both the material and the immaterial world into a pictorial vision. The accompanying exhibition catalogue is the first to investigate, from a variety of perspectives, the question of how this trailblazing abstract artist linked her painting to a higher consciousness. Essays by leading historians of theosophy and a quantum physicist, among others, provide enlightening insight into a world in which both the visualization of atoms and spiritual séances alike became artistic material-a world that fascinates us even more than ever.

Scholars from diverse disciplines tackle the many questions posed by the work and life of abstraction pioneer Hilma af Klint In this thorough critical appraisal, 20 specialists on modern art, art history, philosophy and religious studies examine the unique art, the cultural circumstances and art-historical positioning of Swedish abstractionist Hilma af Klint. Topics explored here range from early abstract art and the impact of Darwinism to Goethe's color theory, as well as the importance of occult religious movements such as theosophy and anthroposophy that influenced the early modernists, and discussions of af Klint's own personal diary notes and research. The book is based on the seminars that were held in conjunction with the exhibition Hilma af Klint: A Pioneer of Abstraction in 2013. This extremely successful exhibition attracted a record number of visitors to the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, after which it continued to the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in Berlin and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark.

Hilma af Klint is now regarded as a pioneer of abstract art. While her paintings were not seen publicly until 1987, her work from the early 20th century pre-dates the first purely abstract paintings by Kandinsky, Mondrian or Malevich. Af Klint sought to express her feelings transmitted to her from nature and the unseen spiritual world. This catalogue focuses primarily on her body of work "The Paintings for the Temple", 1906-15, and numerous paintings from the key series never published before. Exhibition: Serpentine Galleries, London, UK (03.03-15.05.2016).

A moving biography, told in vivid illustrations, this graphic novel features key moments in the life of Swedish artist and pioneer of abstract painting Hilma af Klint (1862–1944). Long underrecognized, af Klint has been amid a sensational rediscovery that continues to take art audiences by storm. Artist Philipp Deines traces the story of now world-famous af Klint’s unique life and groundbreaking oeuvre through five chapters featuring her development as an artist, her family background, and her relationship to the spiritual. Highlighting how she came to her distinctive paintings, her spiritual quest, and the friends who helped her, this is a story of the strength it took af Klint to continue as an artist against all odds. Beautifully drawn, brightly colored, and well researched, this graphic novel is a new way of looking at the story of an artist. Referencing Julia Voss’s new biography of af Klint, Deines presents an accessible and lively introduction for many ages. Biography, art history, and contemporary narrative style merge and complement each other in this magnificent visual world.

Hidden from view for decades, the work of Hilma af Klint (1862?1944) has captured the imagination of contemporary audiences. She is now widely regarded as a pioneer of twentieth-century abstract art. Her paintings are monumental in scale, with radiant color combinations, enigmatic symbols, and otherworldly shapes. In an era of limited creative freedom for women, her secret paintings were an outlet for her prodigious intelligence, spiritual quest, and groundbreaking artistic vision. Hilma af Klint: The Secret Paintings includes over 125 artworks, ranging from enormous canvasses to small watercolors; pages from her detailed notebooks; and a selection of photographs and other images. Five essays and an illustrated chronology reveal new research on af Klint, her practice, and her place in art history.

Hilma af Klint became known to a wider audience in 2013, nearly 70 years after her death, in conjunction with Moderna Museet's Stockholm exhibition Hilma af Klint: Abstract Pioneer. Six years later, her work was exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Both exhibitions saw record numbers of visitors, and today she is one of the world's most acclaimed artists. Hilma af Klint has become incredibly popular and beloved throughout the world, notes Daniel Birnbaum, co-editor with Kurt Almqvist. What makes her art interesting is that the works are highly interconnected. A catalogue raisonné is necessary in order to see the different cycles, motifs and symbols that recur in a fascinating way. If people want to truly understand how Hilma af Klint's works function, they need these books. The paintings in the catalogue raisonné are presented in the same order as Olof Sundström, also a follower of anthroposophy, numbered them in 1945, based on Hilma af Klint's notes. The forewords to the volumes are short and concise. They present facts about the works rather than interpretations. The works are printed in an exclusive edition designed by Patric Leo housed in a specially produced slipcase to hold all seven volumes. These books will be essential in all future research on Hilma af Klint's artistry --- Daniel Birnbaum. Today Hilma af Klint is recognised as one of the world's most esteemed artists - an unprecedented triumph. Hilma af Klint's time is now. Her art has become an important part of our Swedish cultural heritage. Few artists have been given the privilege of a catalogue raisonné. Thanks to Bokförlaget Stolpe's comprehensive work, we now have the opportunity to become acquainted with the entirety of Hilma af Klint's artistry. This would not have been possible without the support of the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. As chairman of The Hilma af Klint Foundation, I would like to convey my warmest thanks. -- Ulrika af Klint, Chair, The Hilma af Klint Foundation.