"we've been featuring her here on Open Culture since 2017, first in the context of whether she counts as the first abstract painter. Just a few years before that, practically no one in the world had ever heard her name, let alone beheld any of her more than 1,200 paintings and drawings. In fact, it was only in 2013, with the show Hilma af Klint - A Pioneer of Abstraction at Stockholm's Moderna Museet, that she first became publicly known."
"From there, her canonization proceeded rapidly. One uses that word advisedly, given af Klint's religiosity, whose intensity, esotericism, and rigor constitute one of the themes of Alice Gregory's recent New Yorker piece on the artist's work, legacy, and relatively newfound popularity, all of it colored by the fact that none of her pieces have ever been for sale. The uncannily modern, before-its-time aesthetic appeal of af Klint's work is one thing;"
Hilma af Klint became a major international art figure only recently, despite dying over eighty years ago. Her production exceeds 1,200 paintings and drawings, and public awareness surged after the 2013 Moderna Museet exhibition Hilma af Klint – A Pioneer of Abstraction. Rapid canonization has followed, driven by the intensity, esotericism, and rigor of her religiosity and by renewed scholarly and popular attention. None of her works have been sold, which shapes reception. The modern, ahead-of-its-time aesthetic attracts admirers, while limited biographical detail has enabled contemporary audiences to project diverse artistic and philosophical narratives onto her life and output.
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