Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future

by Hilma af Klint (Artist), Tracey Bashkoff (Editior)

Hilma af Klint's daring abstractions exert a mystical magnetism

When Swedish artist Hilma af Klint died in 1944 at the age of 81, she left behind more than 1,000 paintings and works on paper that she had 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. Her boldly colorful works, many of them large-scale, reflect an ambitious, 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 represents her groundbreaking painting series while expanding recent scholarship to present the fullest picture yet of her life and art. Essays explore the social, intellectual and artistic context 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 exhibition.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Biography, Spirituality, History, Essays

239 pages, Hardcover

Published October 23, 2018

Reviews

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm all for reconsidering and revising the traditional narrative of abstract modernist art, and finding a place for af Klint within it. What most draws me to her work—and for which I'm very grateful for the high quality reproductions of her paintings in this volume—is her exquisite, often startling sense of color; quite presciently, the palette she worked in couldn't feel more "now."

As others have noted some overlap in the essays collected here create a slight feeling of repetition, but I particularly appreciated the roundtable discussion which brought into literal dialogue all of the different and sometimes conflicting opinions and approaches to af Klint's work and life that are currently being forwarded in the rush to figure out exactly what the critical and popular consensus of this "newly rediscovered" artist is. There's also a larger negotiation here of how to generally deal with artists that unsettle familiar conceptions of autonomy, intentionality, creative collaboration, cultural affiliation, and, perhaps most crucially, spirituality within art and art history—all topics I suspect af Klint will figure prominently into moving forward. As she should be.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimmed, and didn't find either her art or her story very appealing. New book, so I didn't have it long. DNF, not for me.

It got good marks elsewhere, such as
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019...

[Diana Marie Denza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really beautiful and well-done introduction to Hilma af Klint. I have no art background, but heard about af Klint's work and was intrigued because she was a medium and deeply involved in the spiritual movements of her time. This book features essays about the artist and her work, a timeline of her life, and images of a number of her pieces. It also places her life and work into historical context, which is immensely helpful when it comes to finding meaning in the pieces. For example, af Klint was influenced not only by Theosophy and other spiritual and philosophical movements, but also by the natural world, the theory of evolution, and the atom. This is something that anyone with an interest in abstract art and/or innovative women artists should have in their collection.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight up: I am obsessed. This woman, this mystic, her work echoes some of my own visions, and it compels me to study her. I believe she is in a long tradition of women mystics that includes Hildegard von Bingen. I will be reading more about her.

[Ameena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really want to try to thoroughly understand what theosophy is in practice

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Thought defines the universe in geometrical figures." Hilma af Klint, 1916 - pg. 189

"Af Klint was occupied with the spiral - an abstract motif that appears with great frequency in her painting. The logarithmic spiral occurs widely in the botanical world: in the arrangement of seeds on a sunflower or a pine cone, say, or in the snail's shell. Rather than present a domain of static mathematical truth or Platonic forms, af Klint seems to enact a sphere of vibrant life - of spiritual evolution and immanence alike. Thus, her version of abstraction is compatible with the processes of teeming nature rather than the precision of heavenly geometries...

Af Klint's imagery was intended to lead the viewer onto levels of awareness beyond those known from two-dimensional reality, to allow her glimpses of another universe. When she made the paintings for the temple, she was convinced that her true audience did not yet exist. She created for a future humankind." Daniel Birnbaum - 'Another Canon, or Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?' - pg.213

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

After watching the brilliant documentary Beyond the Visible, I had to read more about the extraordinary Hilma af Klint. I'm floored by her work and amazed at how she has slipped out of the pages of art history.

[jenwalk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had been meaning to pick this up since attending the exhibit at the Guggenheim, and I'm so glad I finally did. This book is ideal for me because it is specific to the exhibit where I first became acquainted with af Klint. I remember being so impressed at how sacred of an experience it was to walk up the spiral and take in af Klint's work. This book was a wonderful reminder and a lovely presentation of af Klint's work.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and scholarly.

[isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just think she's so neat!

"I am an atom in the universe that has access to infinite possibilities of development. These possibilities I want, gradually, to reveal."

[RosaDG · Rating 5 out of 5]

The catalog published on the occasion of the monographic exhibition that took place at the Guggenheim in New York in 2018 is well worth reading not only to get closer to the work of this pioneering abstract painter but also for the analyzes and conversations it offers us between experts, artists, curators and art historians. Very interesting!

El catálogo publicado con ocasión de la exposición monográfica que tuvo lugar en el Guggenheim de Nueva York en 2018, bien merece una lectura no solamente para acercarnos a la obra de esta pintora pionera abstracta sino también por los análisis y conversaciones que nos brinda entre expertos, artistas, comisarios e historiadores de arte. Muy interesante!

El catálogo publicado con ocasión de la exposición monográfica que tuvo lugar en el Guggenheim de Nueva York en 2018, bien merece una lectura no solamente para acercarnos a la obra de esta pintora pionera abstracta sino también por los análisis y conversaciones que nos brinda entre expertos, artistas, comisarios e historiadores de arte. Muy interesante!

Le catalogue publié à l'occasion de l'exposition monographique qui a eu lieu au Guggenheim de New York en 2018 mérite d'être lu non seulement pour se rapprocher de l'œuvre de ce peintre abstrait pionnier mais aussi pour les analyses et conversations qu'il nous propose entre experts. , artistes, conservateurs et historiens de l’art. Très interessant!

[Margaryta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although a bit repetitive in some places, "Paintings for the Future" is an insightful survey of Hilma af Klint's work which, for someone who's only become acquainted with her work recently, covers all the basics and then some. Similarly, there was a bit too much patting on the Guggenheim's back for my liking. While I can see the similarities between af Klint's vision of a spiral temple for housing her work and the series of events and inspirations that led to the building of the spiral and temple-like Guggenheim we know today, it felt a bit overstated and overemphasized, like the museum was puffing up its chest and proclaiming that they're the ones making the true art historical breakthrough with this exhibition, unlike all previous museums/exhibitions. The discussion of af Klint's work through a scientific and diagrammatic lens was especially interesting.

[Ksenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This catalogue is a wonderful reference for anyone who attended the Guggenheim exhibition. It has high-quality reproductions of all exhibited works, but unfortunately, many essays are disjointed and repetitive. While the text provides a good introduction to Hilma af Klint's work, and many pieces are insightful at times, they could have been massively edited and presented in a more concise form. The writing is at times academic but not offputting. I wish the text flowed better, and there was more information about af Klint's life (as opposed to emphasizing her religious, scientific, and mystic influences). Overall, this is an accomplished art book, practical for anyone looking to learn more about Hilma af Klint's work.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complete overview of the exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum as well as a complete biographical timeline of the artist’s life. Several different curators analyze her work and discuss how she was left out of art history as a woman who sought the spiritual through her art. She was a visionary who imagined her work some day being exhibited in a “snail like structure.” Indeed her wish was fulfilled over 80 years later. The exhibit was probably one of the most well suited for Frank Lloyd Wright’s building. I particularly loved the Alterpiece series which lifted the viewer into heavenly realms with her brilliant colors and shapes.

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Klint was a Swedish artist who was attracted to spiritualism and automatic drawing and was eventually ‘commissioned’ by a spiritual ‘guide’ – Amaliel – to create paintings. She was the earliest abstract artist. The art was fairly "meh” for me, except for her masterpieces: “The Ten Largest”.

After the forward and biographical information about the artist, there are articles by different art historians on various aspects of her life and art. I’m currently reading another book (Get the Picture) about the world of fine art and this quote from that book perfectly encapsulates the articles in this book: “Pretension hung in the air like an unacknowledged fart.”

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I had no idea what the paintings were supposed to depict;nevertheless, I worked swiftly and surely, without changing a single brushstroke."

"For occultists as much as for artists, science's exploits raised urgent questions."

I don't remember when I first saw her work, but I can credit Anna Brones for bringing in my attention to her name. Read this little by little, and I love the idea of channeling as a form of the muse. Gives me great delight to learn how witchy and mystical she was and thankful these paintings exist. Hope to see one in person someday.

Also loved learning she diagrammed colors. Science and color theory--meet witchy painting.

Her "late watercolors" make my heart soar.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to see the film on Hilma Af Klint and was fascinated by the depiction of her as an artist and abstractionist in the early era of 1900 . I was thrilled to be able to find this book on her life in an inter loan. This book is beautifully illustrated with her art work plus a biography interspersed with examples of her art work and the philosophies of the time - a real treasure who was not recognized as the force that she was in her lifetime.

[Ron Pavellas · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first saw a limited selection of Hilma's paintings at the Stockholm Museum of Modern Art (Moderna Museet) I was soulfully struck. They spoke to me. I have since bought and read this book and now have an understanding of what she seemed to say to me through these and other paintings. This is strictly non-verbal communication.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like a 3.5 but its undeniably fascinating to learn about an artist I knew nothing about in such a lovely presentation. Interesting life, beautifully crafted graphic bio. The scenes around Europe, the buildings and locales were part of the draw. In addition, I appreciate learning about how queer folks navigated society in the past.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated book of her artwork. I didn't know anything about this Swedish woman artist of the turn of the last century. She did abstracts around the time of Kandinsky and she was ahead of her time. I took my time savoring the illustrations and read the included essays.

[vinnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

as with most museum publications i mostly only have this for scans (which are great!) but the essay on swedish folk art and the discussion between several af Klint scholars in here are both very nice :)

[Janice Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great catalog! All the information provide was incredible and went well with the images.

I do think that she transcribed conversation that was included from 2017 of a handful for artists and curators was a bit unnecessary

[Mills College Library]

759.85 H6558b 2018

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing woman; amazing art

[Trudy Ferrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

slice of the Guggenheim, like a piece of warm lemon pound cake.

[Amy]

Gorgeous and meticulously researched companion to one of the best art exhibitions I've ever seen.

[Amela Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely inspiring — I loved this book so much.

[Tyler Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
having read the biography by Julia Voss first, there is so much missing from af Klint when discussing her works

[Christina Zolko · Rating 5 out of 5]

the connection drawn between the colors and to all flowering creatures of the earth is beyond latin or swedish. what a darling palette of 1919-1920.