Hilma af Klint Exhibition at Moderna

I was invited to a special press showing  this morning for the new exhibition at Moderna Museet (modern art museum) featuring Swedish artist Hilma af Klint. The exhibition, called "A Pioneer of Abstraction", will run from February 16th to May 26th.

af Klint, "The Ten Largest" series

There are some fantastic works of art in this exhibit and they, for me, take on more meaning when you know more about the artist's life and career. Af Klint was truly a pioneer in the field of abstract art, arguably the first artist to paint in this medium. Whether she was first or not, she was definitely ahead of her time... an art student and then professional artist in a time when artists were predominantly male. While she did exhibit some of her more realistic art during her lifetime, she did not show any of her abstract art. In her will she stipulated that none of her abstract art could be shown until 20 years after her death, believing that the world wouldn't be ready to understand and embrace her work until then. There has been a lot of international interest in this exhibition, which will travel next to Berlin as the first stop on an international tour.

af Klint, from "Paintings for the Temple"

Besides the upcoming af Klint exhibition... make sure you stop by the museum in the coming weeks to see the fantastic Picasso/Duchamp exhibition before it ends (last day is March 3rd)! Another nice bit of news from Moderna is that they will continue with their successful Friday evenings all throughout 2013. The museum will be open to 8pm each Friday with free admission between 6pm and 8pm! Their bar and restaurant are open until midnight so you can discuss the art you just viewed over a glass of wine.

Picasso/Duchamp

Moderna is located on the island of Skeppsholmen. To get to the museum from the Rival Hotel, just take the convenient Djurgårds Ferry from Slussen (a 10 minute trip)... just make sure you disembark at the Skeppsholmen stop. Let the ticket vendor know as you board the ferry.