Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers

Hilma af Klint is best known as one of the earliest abstract artists and for her adherence to theosophy. So it’s refreshing to see a different side to the artist in this exhibition at MoMA, which presents her botanical drawings (11 May–27 September). The bulk of the show comprises Nature Studies (1919–20), a series of 46 works that the museum acquired in 2021–22. They reveal her eye for detail, fascination with the natural world and, most tellingly, her curiosity about its underlying forms. See, for instance, the geometric swatches of purple and red next to the rendering of the head and stem of a tulip, which reminds us that she drew not only from mystical inspiration but also from the colours, shapes and textures of reality.

Find out more from MoMA’s website.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary

Tulipa sp. (Tulip) (1920), from the series Nature Studies by Hilma af Klint. Museum of Modern Art, New York

Convallaria majalis (Lily of the Valley), Geum rivale (Water Avens), Polygala vulgaris (Common Milkwort) (1919), from the series Nature Studies by Hilma af Klint. Museum of Modern Art, New York

Birch (1922), from the series On the Viewing of Flowers and Trees by Hilma af Klint. Hilma af Klint Foundation, Stockholm