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Germany, Sweden, Switzerland · 2019
1h 33m
Director Halina Dyrschka
Starring Iris Müller-Westermann, Julia Voss, Josiah McElheny, Johan af Klint
Genre Documentary
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This documentary follows the modern re-evaluation of the work and life of Swedish painter Hilma af Klint. Inspired by mysticism and spirituality, af Klint was creating abstract paintings years before her contemporaries Kandinsky and Mondrian, originally considered the originators of the style, making it necessary to rewrite art world history.
It’s more than worth a look — not only for its careful illumination of the artist’s biography, plus an abundant representation of her luminous paintings, but for the way in which it exposes the obstacles af Klint and her legacy faced.
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Beyond the Visible bristles with the excitement of discovery and also with the impatience that recognition has taken so long. It refreshes the eyes and the mind.
This documentary makes a pretty convincing case for the admission of the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint into the boys’ club of abstract art, alongside Kandinsky, Mondrian et al.
Austin Chronicle by Kimberley Jones
Although the filmmaker’s presence in her own film is never remarked upon, I imagine she felt compelled by a feeling of kinship with the artist; Dyrschka, a first-time feature director, is the first filmmaker to profile af Klint, which is a notable achievement. But I don’t think we’ve had the definitive film portrait yet.
If you are a lover of art, especially abstract art, you must see Beyond The Visible – Hilma af Klint. You’ll be blown away by af Klint’s genius and how ahead of her time she really was.
RogerEbert.com by Matt Fagerholm
One of the best films I’ve seen about fine art. It casts an entrancing spell that allows the staggering depth of its subject’s work to consume us, while showing how her trailblazing vision left an unmistakable imprint in over a century of iconic art spanning various mediums, resounding through history like a drop of colored paint in a pitcher of water.
The Hollywood Reporter by Sheri Linden
It's an eloquent contribution to af Klint's rediscovery, which began four decades after her 1944 death. It's also a cogent argument for why that rediscovery impels nothing less than a rewriting of art history.