Above: Svanen by Hilma af Klint
Presenting one of the most fascinating art exhibits I’ve ever had the chance to experience, The Guggenheim’s gone all out to bring us a panorama of works by the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944).
Born in Stockholm in 1862, Hilma af Klint started out as an academy-educated painter of landscapes and portraits, including some striking botanical pieces. The Spiritualist movement and an interest in scientific progress led af Klint to visualize a world beyond daily realities. She began creating radically abstract paintings in 1906.
Feeling that her art would be beyond comprehension during her lifetime, she shunned exhibits of her work and avoided publicity-seeking. af Klint passed away in 1944; she remained an unknown until the 1980s.
The Guggenheim’s exhibition thrilled me, and I hope to return for another look at af Klint’s magnificent work. Although the slanting floor of the long, winding Guggenheim gallery threw off my equilibrium (and similarly affected my friend Deb Hastings, who was with me), this is art that one could study for hours and still not grasp it all.
Much of the magic of af Klint’s work is in the details; here are a few examples:
Some of af Klint’s largest canvases are displayed on the museum’s main floor:
Her colours dazzle:
But photos don’t do the work full justice: you have to be there.
The Guggenheim exhibit, titled Paintings for the Future, runs thru April 23rd, 2019.
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 