Description
The drawings in this first volume of a new catalogue raisonné represent an intense ten-year period of Hilma af Klint’s (1862-1944) life that would lay the foundation for her later achievements. In 1896, af Klint and four other women formed ‘The Five’, a group steeped in the spiritualist beliefs permeating Europe at that time, including theosophy, Rosicrucianism and other strains of liberal religious thought. From 1896 to 1907, The Five engaged in a daily systematic method of spiritual experimentation. During séances, Hilma af Klint drew automatic spiritual sketches based on the messages that the medium (not always the same member) communicated from the spirits the group summoned. The elaborate system of symbols, geometry and biological imagery that characterise her work all find their origin during this period.
About the Catalogue Raisonné
The final volume in a Catalogue Raisonné of the abstract pioneer Hilma af Klint, one of the first to be compiled for a Swedish artist, is released on October 31. The series comprises seven volumes and nearly 1,600 of af Klint’s works.
A Catalogue Raisonné is necessary in order to see the different cycles, motifs and symbols that recur in such an exciting way. If someone really wants to understand how Hilma af Klint’s works function, they need these books,” says Daniel Birnbaum at Acute Art, who edited the catalogue together with Kurt Almqvist.
In addition to the completion of the Catalogue Raisonné, the unique Virtual Reality piece “Hilma af Klint – The Temple” will be released in connection with the publication of the seventh and final volume. A specially produced slipcase to hold all seven volumes will be available in the autumn of 2022. Read more about the Catalogue Raisonné here.
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