HILMA AF KLINT & PIET MONDRIAN - FORMS OF LIFE
Working with the Tate is always an exciting proposition. When asked if we would like to work on the upcoming exhibition between Hilma AF Klint & Piet Mondrian we jumped at the opportunity.
The project is split across both ourselves and Deya Brewing in Cheltenham. We have been paired with Piet Mondrian and tasked with making a beer and label artwork that has been inspired by the artist. No mean feat!
Justin Robertson says:
Human senses can often be inadequate tools with which to capture the manifold mysteries of the reality we are all enmeshed in. I’m fascinated by what we might be missing. ‘The First Note’ translates in a visual form the hidden occult connections made by sound as it blossoms out into the world. Notes once created take on a life of their own. Sound may emerge from musical instruments, animal howls, bird song or the crack of stone but once born these notes make their own way in life to be interpreted and appreciated in a million different ways.
Both Piet Mondrian and Hilma Af Klint are huge influences on my work not only in their use of pattern and colour that is both simultaneously harmonious and revolutionary, but also in their theoretical exploration of the invisible. Their work is like a fantastical map of an alien landscape in a territory that borders our own but is somehow just out of reach.
James Heffron says:
A matrix of latitudinal and longitudinal lines, positions and flavours. Drinking it,
will journey you through the visible and invisible territories of our collective
hop, malt, water and yeast experiences. Join the dots, colour the gaps,
dream the dreams...devour the world...together.
The Exhibition
This is a unique chance to discover the visionary work of Swedish painter Hilma af Klint and experience Dutch painter Piet Mondrian’s influential art in a new light.
Although they never met, af Klint and Mondrian both invented their own languages of abstract art rooted in nature. At the heart of both of their artistic journeys was a shared desire to understand the forces behind life on earth.
Best known for his abstract work, Mondrian in fact began his career – like af Klint – as a landscape painter. Alongside Mondrian’s iconic grids, you will see the rarely exhibited paintings of flowers he continued to create throughout his life. Also on display will be enigmatic works by af Klint in which natural forms become a pathway to abstraction.
Both artists shared an interest in new ideas in spirituality, scientific discovery and philosophy. Af Klint was also a medium, and this exhibition showcases the large-scale, otherworldly masterpieces she believed were commissioned by higher powers.
Visitors will be immersed in these ideas through the vibrant signs, shapes and colours in both artists’ beautiful, complex work.