I recently bumped into a painting that just blew my mind. It was created by the Swedish artist Hilma Af Klint. Her paintings look like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Of course, I wanted to know more about her. Hilma's story simply struck me. As a modern abstract artist, I feel there are several things that are not understood or stressed enough about this great painter.
1. Hilma Af Klint is Europe’s pioneer of abstract art. It was not Kandinsky who first brought it into western modern art world; it was Hilma.
2. After Hilma’s appearance on the radar, the history of modern art hasn’t been re-written for various reasons, mostly uninspired excuses.
3. Abstract art was created by spiritual artists. Kandinsky, Malevich, Mondrian were very much into spiritual matters, yet it was Hilma who acknowledged that her works were created through her by greater energies.
4. Hilma created her artistic language independently from the external world, and by her own wishes nobody saw her abstract art until the 1960s. Yet many great artists created very similar, if not identical, forms of visual expression in the same timeframe, including Kandinsky, Mondrian, Klee, Warhol, Twombly, and Albers.
5. There are those who believe the Temple Hilma was envisioning for her art was some religious institution. The Temple is an inner-space where we connect with our true, higher self, becoming more spiritual and achieving a greater enlightenment, and that it doesn’t have to necessarily be religious in nature.
6. Hilma’s description of the Temple has an astounding resemblance with Guggenheim, which she described long before It was built. Her show at Guggenheim in 2018-2019 was the most visited show in the history of the museum.
7. Hilma Af Klint has not been fully recognized by the modern art system. Her works are not for sale, therefore there is no financial gain for those who rule the system.
8. Hilma has long been snubbed for her spiritualism. She was excluded by her male peers and even after her death the museums wouldn’t even look at her works.
9. Hilma’s works were created over 100 years ago, yet look like they have been created today. They are cosmic and simply magical. She made visible the invisible; we all can do that if we quiet our minds, listen to our hearts, and start looking and listening.
10. We found out about Hilma now for a reason. The world is massively awakening; we are remembering who we truly are and the old system is falling like a house of cards. Some still refuse to see it, choosing to live a distorted reality. How about you?
