Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint © Ambrosia Film

Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint

Film and discussion

2.3 2019

Stockholm

Welcome to the Stockholm première of “Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint”. This documentary about the trailblazing artist sets the record straight with patriarchal art history and is a tribute to Hilma af Klint as a pioneer of abstract art. The film is shown as part of the Stockholm Feminist Film Festival.

Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint

The film chronicles Hilma af Klint’s (1862–1944) struggles to make the art she wanted; serial abstracts with colours and shapes that had no parallels in other art at the time. Refusing to be limited by the physical dimension of existence, Hilma af Klint was the first artist in the world to engage in a combination of spiritual and abstract art.

Her gigantic works are partially painted against the studio floor, and she refused to exhibit or sell her art. Instead, they were stored in an attic until thirty years after her death – awaiting a world she hoped would be more understanding of the visions of mysteries that she wanted to share. The film also asks how her paintings could be ignored for so many years, and how the simple fact that her art is not for sale has influenced the attention to her oeuvre.

After thorough research and an ensuing exhibition (”Hilma af Klint: A Pioneer of Abstraction”) curated by Iris Müller Westermann at Moderna Museet (2013), Hilma af Klint’s works have been shown around the world, most recently in an acclaimed exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint (2018)

93 min

Director: Halina Dyrschka
Producer: Eva Illmer
Photography: Alicja Pahl, Luana Knipfer
Editing: Antje Lass, Mario Orias, Halina Dyrschka
Music: Damian Scholl

The Stockholm Feminist Film Festival

The film is shown in association with the Stockholm Feminist Film Festival, which features films by women directors and films about women’s stories and experiences. This year’s Festival takes place on 28 February – 3 March. Read more and see the programme on the Stockholm Feminist Film Festival website.

Catrin Lundquist, Halina Dyrschka and Iris Müller-Westermann in conversation. Photo: Katriina Mäkinen
Halina Dyrschka and Iris Müller-Westermann. Photo: Katriina Mäkinen

Contact: Catrin Lundqvist, Curator Learning