Hilma af Klint

The Temple

Only after her death did Hilma af Klint become world famous for her art. Today she is considered one of the greatest abstract artists. She dreamed of a spiral-shaped building to house her most important works, but the idea never materialized. More than a century later, af Klint’s vision is now being interpreted in a captivating VR experience bringing to life some of the artist’s most important paintings. Welcome to Fotografiska Stockholm to experience the unique exhibit Hilma af Klint – The Temple from December 22 to January 7.

A unique VR experience at Fotografiska

Now Fotografiska Stockholm invites you to a unique virtual reality experience of Hilma af Klint’s art in an interpretation of the artist’s dream: the Temple. In the experience, you are taken on a cosmic journey through the Milky Way into Hilma af Klint’s temple, where some of her most important paintings that have been brought to life.

Cosmic journey into Hilma af Klint's temple

Long after her death, the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862–1944) is taking the art world by storm. From virtual anonymity, she is today equated with the greatest abstract artists, and her work is considered ground-breaking. Almost 80 years after her death, she has redrawn the map of early abstract art, both in Sweden and internationally. When a major exhibition on Hilma af Klint was arranged in 2018 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, it became the most visited exhibition in the museum’s history.

Spiritualism

Hilma af Klint was deeply spiritual with a great interest in anthroposophy and the ideas of Rudolf Steiner’s Rosicrucian theosophy. She wanted to create a spiral-shaped building, the “temple”, where she would house her most important works and, according to her notebooks, she wanted to build the temple on an island in Sweden. But the idea was never realized, remaining a fantasy creation. Now, more than a century later, Hilma af Klint’s vision has been interpreted and materialized in a captivating virtual reality work, which can be experienced at Fotografiska Stockholm during the winter holidays from December 22 to January 7.

The VR exhibit Hilma af Klint – The Temple, which is 12 minutes long and includes 193 of Hilma af Klint’s paintings in a format that transcends time and space, can be experienced by 26 visitors at a time. It has been created by Daniel Birnbaum and Kurt Almqvist and directed by Marika Stolpe. The experience is produced by Acute Art and published by the publisher Bokförlaget Stolpe.

Details

193 works in 12 minutes.
Can be experienced by 26 people at a time.
Bookable from 10am to 7pm from December 22 to January 7 – throughout the Christmas holidays.
Price: Included in your entrance ticket. Follow link below to pre-book admission + time slot for your VR experience.
Drop-in for Hilma VR are only offered subject to availability.
Be on time for the selected slot! The VR experience starts at the scheduled slot time. Your pre-booked ticket can be scanned at the entrance before your chosen slot, so come a little early, enjoy the exhibitions and have a cup of coffee in the bistro.
For children age 7+.

About Hilma af Klint

Hilma af Klint was born in Stockholm in 1862 and studied at the Royal Academy of Arts. She exhibited figurative paintings and became a respected artist. She became involved with spiritualism and later developed a strong interest in the ideas of Rudolf Steiner’s Rosicrucian theosophy and anthroposophy. This type of spirituality was popular throughout Europe at the time, especially in artistic and literary circles. In recent years, interest in af Klint’s painting has surged. In 2018, when a major Hilma af Klint exhibition was arranged at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, it became the most visited exhibition in the museum’s history. Hilma af Klint’s work has also been shown at the Modern Museum in Stockholm in 2013 and 2022.