{"id":881236,"date":"2026-10-13T20:50:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T20:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/881236\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T20:50:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T20:50:21","slug":"arcana-borealis-summons-the-power-of-spirituality-and-artist-communities-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/881236\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Arcana Borealis’ Summons the Power of Spirituality and Artist Communities \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Around 1906, Hilma af Klint<\/a> was living in Stockholm, where she kept a studio. Deeply engaged with Christian esotericism, she channeled her mystic visions into a series of otherworldly paintings that art historians acknowledge to be the first known abstract works in the canon, a paradigm shift<\/a> in 20th-century art that had previously been credited to Wassily Kandinsky starting around 1910. <\/p>\n

What continues to awe us today about af Klint\u2019s works is she didn\u2019t view her vibrant paintings strictly as artworks, but as a result of spiritual channeling. Their production also coincided with a period of incredible scientific discovery. Nikola Tesla had just developed the alternating current (AC) electricity system, plus generated the first radio transmissions, when he then used to create a remote control. And 1905 was Einstein\u2019s \u201cmiracle year\u201d with the publication of his seminal theory of relativity.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Elga Sesemann, \u201cBird\u201d (1968). Photo by Jenni Nurminen, courtesy of the Finnish National Gallery Collection\/Ateneum Art Museum, Yrj\u00f6 and Nanny Kaunisto Collection<\/p>\n

A major exhibition titled Arcana Borealis\u2014Northern Women and Esotericism deep-dives into the history of modern art through the lens of women artists working at the intersection of spirituality and esotericism. Opening soon at the Atenium Art Museum<\/a>, part of the Finnish National Gallery, the show also explores the nature of artistic networks. In all, the exhibition gathers more than 200 works by 50 artists to broaden perspectives on women\u2019s creative practices guided by belief systems, ecology, and the imagination.<\/p>\n

Arcana Borealis features notable pieces by early 20th-century artists like af Klint and Anna Cassel alongside Anna-Eva Bergman, Maja Fjaestad, Sonja Ferlov Mancoba, and contemporary artist Outi Pieski<\/a>. Visitors will encounter paintings, sculpture, textiles, stained glass, video, and much more that curators Dr. Nina Kokkinen and Dr. Marja Lahelma conceive as a challenge to \u201cart historical narratives that have privileged the myth of the lone artistic genius,\u201d the museum says. Instead, Arcana Borealis highlights how collaboration and spiritual communities shape the artists\u2019 practices.<\/p>\n

Cassel and af Klint worked together, for example, as part of what became known as The Five, a group of Stockholm-based women who explored spiritual realms through s\u00e9ances and meditation. Collaboration also comes to the fore in Pieski\u2019s performance titled \u201cGuhte gull\u00e1 \/ Here to Hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pieski collaborated with dancers and choreographers Biret and G\u00e1ddj\u00e1 Haarla Pieski, drawing on their S\u00e1mi<\/a> heritage and incorporating vibrant clothing in a nod to traditional garments. The S\u00e1mi are an Indigenous people in predominantly the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, and Finland, and performance speaks to the trauma inflicted by state-sponsored assimilation programs<\/a> and discrimination going back centuries.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Biret and G\u00e1ddj\u00e1 Haarla Pieski, Outi Pieski, \u201cGuhte gull\u00e1 \/ Here to Hear\u201d (2021). Photo by Mauri L\u00e4hdesm\u00e4ki<\/p>\n

The exhibition takes its title from the Latin arcana, meaning \u201chidden knowledge,\u201d and borealis, meaning \u201cthe north.\u201d The show \u201capproaches \u2018the North\u2019 as a cross-border cultural and imaginative space shaped by mythology and spiritual traditions,\u201d the museum says. \u201cIt traces how artists across Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and S\u00e1pmi<\/a> turned to esotericism, alternative cosmologies, meditation and mediumistic practices to explore questions of existence, creativity, and belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arcana Borealis opens on October 23 and continues through February 28, 2027, in Helsinki. You might also enjoy navigating into the arcane through Taschen\u2019s Tarot<\/a>, part of the publisher\u2019s Library of Esoterica series.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Anna Cassel, \u201cUntitled II, No. 32\u201d (1915), oil and metallic paint on canvas. Photo courtesy of The Hilma af Klint Foundation\/Anders Fredriks\u00e9n<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>Outi Pieski, \u201cBeavvit (Rising Together)\u201d (2019), knotted fringes in polyester thread, metal. Photo by Annar Br\u00f8gli, courtesy of the National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>Laila Pullinen, \u201cMata Hari IV\u201d (1965). Photo by Aleks Talve, courtesy of the Finnish National Gallery Collection\/Ateneum Art Museum<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Anna Cassel, \u201cUntitled II, No. 62\u201d (1915), oil on canvas. Photo courtesy of The Hilma af Klint Foundation\/Anders Fredriks\u00e9n<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Rita Kernn-Larsen, \u201cOasis\u201d (1935), oil on canvas, 109 x 79 centimeters. \u00a9 Rita Kernn-Larsen \/ VISDA, courtesy of Randers Art Museum<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Tyra Kleen, \u201cForbidden Fruit\u201d (1909), gouache on paper. Photo \u00a9 Bobo Lindblad, Lindblad Studio, courtesy of Riddarhuset, Tyra Kleen Collection<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>Sonja Ferlov Mancoba, \u201cMask and Figure\u201d (1984), bronze. Photo by Lars Bay, courtesy of Randers Art Museum<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Anna Cassel, \u201cUntitled II, No. 33\u201d (1915), oil and metallic paint on canvas. Photo courtesy of The Hilma af Klint Foundation\/Anders Fredriks\u00e9n<\/p>\n

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