Hilma af Klint

A collaboration was launched in 2012 between Moderna Museet in Stockholm and the Hilma af Klint Foundation. This was in conjunction with an initiative taken under the leadership of the museum’s director, Daniel Birnbaum, to hold an extensive exhibition on the Anthroposophist artist Hilma af Klint (1862–1944) at Moderna Museet, curated by Iris Müller-Westermann.

Very little was known about Hilma af Klint’s life and work in 2012. Few people had read the notebooks produced by the spiritual groups she belonged to. There was virtually no biographical material available at the time. Most of what was known about her life was based on a short privately distributed text , Förtroligt [‘Confidentially’], written in 1967 by Vice-Admiral Erik af Klint (1901–1981), sole heir of  her estate and the sole founder of the Hilma af Klint Foundation in 1972, and on what he told Åke Fant (1943–1997), author of Hilma af Klint: Occult Painter and Abstract Pioneer (1989).

The books that had been written up until 2012 were hagiographies, mostly based on hearsay that had originated in Förtroligt. There was thus a great need for historical research. In order to place the work of the groups that Hilma af Klint belonged to in their artistic and conceptual contexts, the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit took the initiative in 2012 to launch academic seminars and research on what was recognised at the time to be Hilma af Klint’s work. Subsequent research has shown that more people than Hilma af Klint were active participants in this work (Hedvig Martin, 2018, 2023).

A series of seminars was initiated, which accompanied Moderna Museet’s exhibition around the world. The project resulted in a large number of seminars, which are documented in numerous TV programmes, and published works featuring contributions from researchers working in a number of academic disciplines.

On March 31, 2019, the Hilma af Klint Foundation’s chair, Ulrika af Klint, signed an agreement with Bokförlaget Stolpe under which the publisher would release a Catalogue Raisonné in seven parts. This was produced in 2020–2022 and contains images of all known works.

On September 19, 2021, an agreement to produce virtual reality (VR) experiences of the Paintings for the Temple series was signed by the Foundation and Bokförlaget Stolpe. In partnership with the digital art platform Acute Art, a virtual performative temple that reproduces Hilma af Klint’s vision of a spiritual “astral” temple was created along with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of the Temple series, one set of which was donated to the Hilma af Klint Foundation. The copyright on Hilma af Klint’s works expired in 2014, 70 years after her death. There are a number of NFTs (digital versions) for sale online with incorrect colour applications. The Hilma af Klint Foundation’s NFTs have the correct colours and format.

In the mythological accounts giving the history of her work, Hilma af Klint’s artistry is characterised as having widely different phases such as 1906–1915, 1917–1920 and 1922–1941. That turns out not to be the case. Volume 1 contains drawings from around 1896–1907, produced in part by the group The Five – a Christian spiritualistic group led by the medium Sigrid Hedman – which Hilma af Klint took part in, though not as an medium. It is difficult to determine which drawings she may have contributed since most of these are unsigned. The volume examines her spiritualistic background. Another volume, Volume 7 in the catalogue, includes examples of her naturalistic paintings – landscapes and portraits – which shows that she also worked figuratively throughout her life as an artist.

The project has received SEK 62 M in funding.

Seminars

2013

Hilma af Klint – A Pioneer of Abstraction
Moderna Museet, Stockholm and Engelsberg Ironworks, Ängelsberg, Sweden
February 15-16, 2013

The Art of Seeing the Invisible – On Hilma af Klint and Other Visionaries
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
May 24-25, 2013

Colourful Images – Past and Present Perspectives on the Work of Hilma af Klint
Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany
October 4, 2013

2014

On Hilma af Klint and the Spirit of Her Time
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
May 9, 2014

2015

Book Launch and Lecture: Hilma af Klint – The Art of Seeing the Invisible
Henie Onstad Art Center, Oslo, Norway
October 2, 2015

2016

Seeing is Believing – On Hilma af Klint’s Importance Today
Serpentine Galleries and Goethe-Institut, London, UK
May 9, 2016

Indian Roots of European Modernism – The Visual and Performing Arts with the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New  Parthi, India
Bikaner House, New  Parthi, India
December 12, 2016

2017

A Mediated Magic – The Indian Presence in European Modernism
Engelsberg Ironworks
August 28, 2017

2018

Visionary – On Hilma af Klint and the Spirit of Her Time
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City, USA
October 12, 2018

2019

Hilma af Klint
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
September 10, 2019

2020-2022

Hilma af Klint: Catalogue Raisonné
Serpentine Galleries, London, UK
November 18, 2021

2023

Swedish Ecstasy – Seminar
Brussels, Belgium
February 16, 2023

TV programmes

2013

Hilma af Klint – A Pioneer of Abstraction
A Pioneer of Abstraction –  Part 1
A Pioneer of Abstraction –  Part 2

Hilma af Klint and Other Visionaries
Part 1 of 11: Hilma and the history of ideas in esotericism
Part 2 of 11: Depicting the invisible
Part 3 of 11: Hilma and modernity
Part 4 of 11: Hilma and Rudolf Steiner
Part 5 of 11: Hilma and the turn of the 20^th century
Part 6 of 11: Western esotericism
Part 7 of 11: The symbolic foundations of suprematism
Part 8 of 11: The legacy of esotericism
Part 9 of 11: Art and meaning
Part 10 of 11: The tradition of modern abstract art
Part 11 of 11: About Moderna Museet’s exhibition

The Art of Seeing the Invisible
 Part 1 – On Hilma af Klint and Other Visionaries
 Part 2 – On Hilma af Klint and Other Visionaries
 Part 3 – On Hilma af Klint and Other Visionaries
 Part 4 – On Hilma af Klint and Other Visionaries
 Part 5 – On Hilma af Klint and Other Visionaries

Hilma af Klint – A Pioneer of Abstraction
4  Parts

The Art of Seeing the Invisible – On Hilma af Klint and Other Visionaries
14  Parts

2014

Colourful Images
Hilma af Klint in Berlin – twelve lectures and programmes from the seminar at Hamburger Bahnhof starting January 5, 2014

2016

Five lectures and programmes starting July 9, 2016 from the seminar Seeing is Believing:
 Part 1 Seeing is Believing – Hilma af Klint’s Importance Today
 Part 2 Seeing is Believing – Hilma af Klint’s Importance Today
 Part 3 Seeing is Believing – Hilma af Klint’s Importance Today
 Part 4 Seeing is Believing – Hilma af Klint’s Importance Today
 Part 5 Seeing is Believing – Hilma af Klint’s Importance Today

2016

A New Book – Hilma af Klint: The Art of Seeing the Invisible

2018

On Hilma af Klint and the Spirit of Her Time
 Part 1 On Hilma af Klint and the Spirit of Her Time
 Part 2 On Hilma af Klint and the Spirit of Her Time

2019

A New Book – Hilma af Klint: Seeing is Believing with Louise Belfrage

Stolpe Stories Podcast 

The contemporary phenomenon Hilma af Klint with Daniel Birnbaum
Symbols and interpretation for Hilma af Klint with Ulf Wagner
Myth and reality in the story of Hilma af Klint with Hedvig Martin
Who was Anna Cassel? with Hedvig Martin
Spirituality and art in the time of Anna Cassel with Hedvig Martin
Who created The Paintings for the Temple? recorded essay by Hedvig Martin
The significance of Anna Cassel to Hilma af Klint recorded essay by Kurt Almqvist

Books

2015

• Hilma af Klint: The Art of Seeing the Invisible
  Edited by Kurt Almqvist and Louise Belfrage, Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. New release 2020 – Bokförlaget Stolpe

2017

• Hilma af Klint: Seeing is Believing
  Edited by Kurt Almqvist and Louise Belfrage, Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. New release 2020 – Bokförlaget Stolpe

2019

• Hilma af Klint: Visionary, Louise Belfrage et al., Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit. New release 2019 – Bokförlaget Stolpe
• A Mediated Magic, Louise Belfrage et al., Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit

2020-2022

• Hilma af Klint: Catalogue Raisonné
  Eds. Daniel Birnbaum and Kurt Almqvist

2021

• Hilma af Klint: Occult Painter and Abstract Pioneer (Swedish/English)
  Åke Fant. New release

2023

• The Saga of the Rose – about Anna Cassel’s importance in Hilma af Klint’s work
  Daniel Birnbaum, Kurt Almqvist, Hedvig Martin
• Esoteric Sweden: From Swedenborg to Strindberg, ed. Carl Philip Passmark

Seminars, locations, countries

2013

•  Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
• Engelsberg Ironworks, Ängelsberg, Sweden
• Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany

2014

• Louisiana, Humlebæk, Denmark

2015

• Heine Onstad, Oslo, Norway

2016

•  Serpentine Galleries, London, UK
• New  Parthi, India

2017

•  Engelsberg Ironworks, Ängelsberg, Sweden

2018

•  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA

2019

•  Tel Aviv, Israel

2021

•  Catalogue Raisonné Seminar, London, UK

2022

• VR (Virtual Temple) London, UK, October 10–16, 2022 at Koko Club and Swedenborg     House. Included as part of Frieze Art Fair programme
• VR Paris, France, October 19–22, 2022 at the Swedish Institute in Le Marais. Part of the art fair Paris+ par Art Basel

2023

• VR, Tate Modern, London, UK
• VR, New York, USA
• VR, Fotografiska Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
• Seminar in conjunction with Sweden as EU Council President: Swedish Ecstasy, Brussels, Belgium

2024

• VR Hilma af Klint and Kandinsky, Düsseldorf, Germany
• Esoteric Sweden, Engelsberg Ironworks, Ängelsberg, Sweden