Curator's Introductory Talk | Hilma af Klint: Artist and Visionary

Join us online for this free introduction to our exhibition, Hilma af Klint: Artist and Visionary. 

Discover more about the exhibition with exhibition Curator Janet McLean.  

Hilma af Klint is recognised as one of Europe’s foremost abstract painters and is one of Sweden’s most celebrated modern artists. This exhibition, developed in partnership with the Hilma af Klint Foundation, features paintings, drawings and watercolours, marking the first major exhibition dedicated to the artist’s work in Ireland. Af Klint’s art was profoundly informed by spirituality and her explorations of Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, and Anthroposophy. Like many artists of her time, she sought to make sense of and articulate the modern world. Inspired by nature, science and religion, af Klint developed a visionary abstract painting style - highly charged emotionally, spiritually and chromatically.

While portraiture and illustration provided a source of income, Hilma af Klint’s spiritual paintings - the ‘great work’ - were seldom shown beyond her close circle. Her vast body of work remained in storage until the 1980s, largely unknown outside Sweden. This show explores the time, place and circumstances that shaped her unique artistic vision. Key spiritual works such as The Swan (1914–15) and Altarpieces (1915) feature alongside plant studies, early portraits and landscapes, some of which have never been publicly exhibited.

• This free talk will take place online via Zoom. Login details will be contained in the e-mail booking receipt.
• The talk will be recorded and made available on the Gallery's YouTube channel until the exhibition ends. 
• This event will be accompanied by an Irish sign language interpreter.
• There will be time for questions after the talk