About the artist
Hilma af Klint, a radical pioneer of abstract art, broke traditional ties with the physical world with her bold and innovative paintings in 1906. Despite her contemporary artists like Vasily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, and Piet Mondrian following similar non-representational paths, af Klint's masterpieces largely remained private. Unlike her peers, she exhibited her work sparingly and imposed a twenty-year exhibition ban after her death, believing the world wasn't ready to appreciate her revolutionary vision. Her art remained largely hidden until 1986, gaining significant recognition only in the past three decades.
Born in Stockholm in 1862, af Klint graduated with honors from the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts. She earned respect as a painter and served briefly as secretary of the Association of Swedish Women Artists. Deeply influenced by spiritualism and Theosophy, her spiritual practices fueled the creation of her nonobjective series, 'The Paintings for the Temple', revealing mystical interpretations of reality through diverse styles and compositions.
