Hilma af Klint

Hilma af Klint was a Swedish artist whose body of work was amongst the first depictions of abstract art. Her large, colorful canvases—which often resembled diagrams—were created as visual representations of complex spiritual ideas that af Klint, herself, practiced. In fact, af Klint was a mystic who believed in the presence of higher spirits and the power of communication through séances. She, along with four other female artists who shared in her philosophy, formed the group called ‘the Five’—who together, along with creating abstract art, wrote a book including mystical thoughts and messages from their ‘higher spirits’.