Hilma Af Klint the Secret Paintings

Hilma af Klint: The secret paintings will be 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 re-discovery 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 hers 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 will include over 125 artworks ranging from her monumental canvasses to small watercolours (many of 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 practice and her place in art history.

Author: Sue Cramer

Publisher: The Art Gallery of New South Wales

Released Date: 2021

ISBN: 9781741741520