Museum Preview: Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers at MoMA

This armchair preview will enhance your visit or serve as a fine substitute for those unable to go in person.

Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers at MoMA (running May 11, 2025 through September 27, 2025) focuses on a recently discovered portfolio of nature drawings that break with traditional botanical art. Made during the spring and summer of 1919 and 1920, af Klint's work employed jewel-toned watercolors to juxtapose exquisitely rendered blossoms with precisely drawn diagrams: a blooming sunflower is echoed by nested circles; a marsh marigold is accompanied by mirrored spirals; a cluster of budding branches is set against checkerboards of dots and strokes. Her artistic interpretation of botany recognizes the interconnectedness of all living things, as she used her surroundings to represent and reveal the human condition.