Hilma Af Klint: The Paintings For The Temple

To say Hilma af Klint’s paintings were divinely inspired is an understatement. As a member of the Theosophical Society and a trained medium, af Klint was called upon by group of spirits during a séance to create the one hundred and ninety-three works that comprise The Paintings for the Temple. Created from 1905 through 1915, af Klint was a pioneer in abstract art as her work predates what was previously considered the first non-representational artworks in Europe. Working in large scale, she used her body as a vessel that her spirit guides could speak through, painting geometric forms like pyramids and planetary orbs as well as biomorphic forms that call to mind botanical or cellular structures, all in ethereal color palettes. Her intention for the paintings were for them to be installed in a round temple for spiritual contemplation and guidance. Despite being an innovator, af Klint’s work went unseen until 1986, and has since been celebrated and exhibited in her native Sweden as well as the United States and Europe. Hilma af Klint: The Paintings for the Temple is the second in a series of seven cloth-bound volumes that, for the first time in history, collect all her works in full color reproduction as a catalogue raisonné. Published in tandem with the Swedish humanities organization the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation, this collection features an introduction by Swedish art curator and critic Daniel Birnbaum, who has curated multiple exhibits of af Klint’s otherwordly work. Hilma af Klint: The Paintings for the Temple is a well-deserved embodiment of af Klint’s innovative and metaphysical creativity.

•9.75″W x 1″D x 12.5″H

•edited by Kurt Almqvist and Daniel Birnbaum
•clothbound hardcover
•232 pages