Lesley Harding

Sue Cramer

Cubism was a movement that changed fundamentally the course of twentieth-century art. It had far-reaching effects, both conceptual and stylistic, which are still being felt today. Described in 1912 by French poet and commentator Guillaume Apollinaire as 'not an art of imitation, but an art of conception', Cubism irreversibly altered art's relationship to visual reality. 'I paint things as I think them, not as I see them', Picasso said. Cubism and Australian Art examines for the first time the impact of this transformative art movement on the work of Australian artists, from the early 1920s to the present day. The authors argue that by its very nature, Cubism was characterised by variation and change, that the idea of a pure or original Cubism was short lived, and that its appearance in Australian art parallels its uptake and re-interpretation by artists internationally. In the words of French artist Andr Lhote, mentor to several Australians who studied at his Academy in Paris: 'There are a thousand defi nitions of Cubism, because there are a thousand painters practising it'. More than eighty international and Australian artists are showcased with over 300 works, featuring Sam Atyeo, Ralph Balson, Grace Crowley, Frank Hinder, Roger Kemp, Godfrey Miller, Stephen Bram and Daniel Crooks, as well as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Fernand L ger.

Cubism & Australian Art

Hilma af Klint: The Secret Paintings will be published in association with a major survey of the remarkable work of this visionary Swedish-born artist (1862-1944) drawn from the Hilma af Klint Foundation in Sweden. Af Klint is now widely regarded as one of the world's pioneers of 20th-century abstract art.Hidden from view for decades, as stipulated in her will, the startling re-discovery of af Klint's work has captured the imagination of contemporary audiences, with a 2019 exhibition of af Klint's work at the Guggenheim taking New York by storm.No one had created paintings like hers before - so monumental in scale, with such radiant colour combinations, enigmatic symbols and other-worldly shapes. In an era of limited creative freedom for women, af Klint's secret paintings became an outlet for her prodigious intelligence, spiritual quest and ground-breaking artistic vision.The book with include over 110 artworks ranging from her large canvasses to small watercolours (many of which have not been shown or published before) and pages from her beautifully detailed notebooks, as well as a selection of photographs and other images.Five essays and an illustrated chronology - written by curators, her biographer and other specialists - reveal new research on af Klint and her practice and her place in art history.

Sue Cramer

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