Pairings: Hilma af Klint and Adolph Gottlieb

Hilma af Klint in Paintings for the Future at the Guggenheim. Museum Link

These first three paintings are from a large series on the ground floor, based on cycles of life; these from  adulthood and old age.

Ascending the ramp we begin with botanical illustrations; the artist made her living from landscape paintings .

She consorted with a group of spiritualists called Group of Five, holding seances and channeling spirits. The didactic panel states that spiritualism was a way to sidestep marginalization of the female voice in favor of an absolute authority. Af Klint accepted the mission to paint as a medium for the spirits, envisioning the works housed in a special museum that would accommodate their towering height and messages.

Toward the end of her life, Af Klint moves to abstraction, and no longer functions as a medium .

The cycle of spirit paintings from above.

Adolph Gottlieb at Pace. For way more beautiful and accurate images, check the link. Gallery Link

The exhibition, titled Classic Paintings, focuses on Gottlieb's Burst and Imaginary Landscape series.  

They conjure, in part, Max Ernst's Sedona landscapes: Link to an Ernst

Gottlieb felt that painting synthesized all aspects of experience, and did not separate or compartmentalize emotions from intellect.