Hilma af Klint, Paintings for the Future (Installation View), via Art Observed

It’s been a long time coming for the Swedish painter Hilma af Klint.  Born in 1862 in Stockholm, her works during the years leading up to and after the turn of the 20th Century marked an increasingly surreal departure from the studied realism of her peers, and into a state of abstraction the made her a leading voice in the development of the language and practice of modernism. Yet af Klint’s work is also frequently held aside from her peers of the era, that is, until now, with an ambitious and thrilling Guggenheim exhibition aiming to put her work back into its proper historical and aesthetic context. (more…)

Oliver Croy and Oliver Elser, The 387 Houses of Peter Fritz (1916-1992), Insurance Clerk from Vienna’ (1993-2008), via Art Observed

Curated by Massimiliano Gioni, Natalie Bell, Helga Christoffersen and Margot Norton, The Keeper is an ambitious group exhibition for which the New Museum has reserved its three floors and lobby. Covering a broad chronological and geographical span, the works in this exhibition investigate one of the quintessential human instincts, that of preservation and collection.  The ingrained urge to keep what is present for later, with all it stands for, imbues the works on view, presenting visitors with a wealth of perspectives on this human inclination, and its equally varied results.

Olga Fröbe Kapteyn, Untitled (ca. 1927-34), via Art Observed

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Hilma af Klint, The Swan, No. 17, Group IX/SUW, The SUW/UW Series (1915), courtesy Hamburger Bahnhof

The first-ever retrospective of the pioneering Swedish abstract artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) is currently on view at Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof museum. The exhibition includes 200 of Klint’s most revered abstract works, as well as several lesser-known paintings and works on paper, some of which have never been publicly displayed.

Hilma af Klint, Buddha’s Standpoint in the Earthly Life, No. 3a, (1920), courtesy Hamburger Bahnhof

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A major dispute between board members of the Hilma af Klint Foundation is casting a pall on the first major retrospective of the artist in her home country of Sweden.  The dispute arises over several board members’ desires to  sell of works to fund a museum to “anthroposophy,” a school of thought originated by Rudolf Steiner. Ulf  Wagner, one of the accused board members has responded, saying “Legally we would not be allowed to sell her works,” before continuing that this would only apply to major works.  (more…)