Abstract paintings were being produced even before Kandinsky. Completely independently from each other, Georgiana Houghton (1814 - 1884) in England, Hilma af Klint (1862 - 1944) in Sweden and Emma Kunz (1892 - 1963) in Switzerland each developed an individual abstract pictorial language. What they had in common was a desire to make visible the laws of nature, the intellect and the supernatural. Their works are being presented side by side for the first time in an exhibition. The three women artists all found their artistic language within the context of the spiritual movements of their times: Houghton in spiritism, af Klint in theosophy and Kunz in naturopathy. Their artworks bear witness to a "mediumistic" praxis: Houghton and af Klint were inspired by higher beings to paint, while Kunz developed her drawings with the help of a pendulum.
Author Biography
Karin Althaus is a curator of nineteenth-century paintings and sculpture at the Stadtischen Galerie im Lenbachhaus in Munich, where Matthias Muhling is director and Sebastian Schneider is an assistant curator.
