Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life

Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life, a major new exhbition at Tate Modern, is rooted in the two artists' fascination for the natural world. As two of the most imaginative artists of the twentieth century, they started out as representational landscape painters in the early 1900s. While they never met, they shared the same desire to understand the forces behind life on earth. At the centre of the exhibition you will find sketches, notebooks, and letters from af Klint’s and Mondrian’s archives, offering an intimate look at some of the ideas behind their art.

Showcasing around 250 works, this is the largest presentation of Hilma af Klint's work in the UK, including her painting series The Ten Largest 1907, while its the first major UK exhibition in over 25 years of Piet Mondrian's early work, alongside his iconic grid compositions. From landscapes and botanical drawings to depictions of lowers and trees alongside abstract paintings, this exhibition highlights how incredibly connected they both were with nature throughout their careers.

Tate Modern explores how their unique approaches to abstraction were each inspired by new ways of looking closely at nature. The exhibition also investigates how both artists engaged with spirituality and mysticism. Across Europe, artists and thinkers like af Klint and Mondrian explored esoteric movements like theosophy and anthroposophy as a way of reconnecting religion with the modern world.

The exhibition is curated by Frances Morris, Director, Tate Modern; Nabila Abdel Nabi, Curator, International Art, Tate Modern; Briony Fer, Professor, UCL; Laura Stamps, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Kunstmuseum den Haag; and Amrita Dhallu, Assistant Curator, International Art, Tate Modern.

Hima af Klint and Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life is open until 3rd of September 2023.