Hilma af Klint: The Secret Paintings is published in association with a major survey of the remarkable work of this visionary Swedish-born artist (1862-1944) drawn from the Hilma af Klint Foundation in Sweden. Af Klint is now widely regarded as one of the world’s pioneers of 20th-century abstract art.
Hidden from view for decades, the startling rediscovery of af Klint’s work has captured the imagination of contemporary audiences, with a 2019 exhibition of af Klint’s work at the Guggenheim taking New York by storm.
No one had created paintings like her before - so monumental in scale, with such radiant colour combinations, enigmatic symbols and otherworldly shapes. In an era of limited creative freedom for women, af Klint’s secret paintings became an outlet for her prodigious intelligence, spiritual quest and ground-breaking artistic vision.
The book features over 200 illustrations including 125 artworks ranging from her monumental canvases to small watercolours (many which have not been shown or published before); pages from her beautifully detailed notebooks; as well as a selection of photographs and other images.
Five essays and an illustrated chronology - written by curators, her biographer and other specialists - reveal new research on af Klint, her practise and her place in art history.
Edited by Sue Cramer with Nicholas Chambers
Essays by Sue Cramer, Nicholas Chambers, Jennifer Higgie, Aaron Lister and Julia Voss
Hardback
256 pages
28 x 21.4cm