Searching for Ma

The work of turn-of-the-century artist Hilma af Klint has long been forgotten, due to the artist’s own will to conceal her visionary abstract paintings for at least 20 years after her death. Today, while art historians have finally recognized her as the first abstract painter in Western art, most of her oeuvre is yet to be exhibited. The island of Ekerö, located in the Stockholm archipelago on lake Mälaren, is a significant location for af Klint’s memory, being her home for most of her life. The chosen plot, compressed between Lake Malaren
and an artificial lake, nicknamed “Blue Lagoon” by locals because of its turquoise water, is currently a destination of leisure for Stockholmers, who come to swim, ride bikes and horses, and spend time in the nature. The main idea of the project is to separate the layer of exhibition spaces for Hilma af Klint below, with its contemplative athmosphere, while dialoguing with the outdoors activities below by means of sculptural lanterns, hosting art, events and interactions, and providing soft light for the interior. The layout of the museum encourages movement, with a long, linear “nave” sunken at the core of the hill, with a number of rooms of different sizes and shapes scattered at its sides. The aim is create a wide variety of spaces that can inspire the collection’s curator with unexpected arrangements of the art, being able to play with the different intensities of light and materiality.