Catalog of an exhibition held at David Zwirner, New York, 3 November 2021 - 29 January 2022; and David Zwirner, London, 2 March - 2 April 2022. Includes bibliographical references.
Contents:
The alchemy of art: Hilma af Klint's Tree of knowledge / Julia Voss -- Plant knowledge / Joy Harjo and Helen Molesworth in conversation -- Without / Joy Harjo -- Tree of knowledge -- Cloud ladder / Joy Harjo -- On Hilma af Klint, from the point of view of a nonobjective painter / Suzan Frecon -- Hilma af Klint: other visions / Max Rosenberg -- At the theological crossroads: Hilma af Klint's Tree of knowledge / Susan L. Aberth -- Crystal visions / Julia Voss and William Glassley in conversation -- List of works.
Summary:
One of the most inventive artists of the twentieth century, af Klint was a pioneer of abstraction. Her first forays into nonobjective painting preceded the work of Kandinsky and Mondrian and radically mined the fields of science and religion. Deeply interested in spiritualism and philosophy, af Klint developed an iconography that explores esoteric concepts in metaphysics, as demonstrated in Tree of Knowledge. This rarely seen series of works on paper renders orbital, enigmatic forms, visual allegories of unification and separateness, darkness and light, beginning and end, life and death, and spirit and matter. Published on the occasion of the exhibition Hilma af Klint: Tree of Knowledge at David Zwirner, New York, in 2021 and David Zwirner, London, in 2022, this book features a text by the art historian Susan Aberth examining af Klint's spiritual and theosophical influences. With a conversation between curator Helen Molesworth and the US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo discussing connections between Tree of Knowledge and Native theories, the publication broadens the scope of philosophical interpretations of af Klint's timeless work. Also included is a newly commissioned essay by the celebrated af Klint scholar Julia Voss, a contribution by the artist Suzan Frecon, and a text by art historian Max Rosenberg that further develops the conversation around why af Klint's work was not recognized in its time.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.