In the spring of 2023, all eyes will be on the far north. We know Sweden mainly for its pragmatism, great engineers and entrepreneurs. But there is an important yet lesser known aspect of the nation’s spiritual life, visible in its art and literature. Bozar is therefore staging an exhibition that brings together a number of figureheads from the Swedish art scene. Mysticism and esoteric speculation runs like a thread through their work. We will be showing work by some of the country’s most important literary figures, from the 18th-century Emanuel Swedenborg to the turn of the 20th century with August Strindberg, who is known as a writer but who also created wonderful drawings and paintings. In the same period, we find visual art by visionaries such as C.F. Hill, Ernst Josephson and Hilma af Klint. Hilma af Klint dreamed of a spiral-shaped building to house her most important works, the so-called Paintings for the Temple with as many as 193 works. During her lifetime, that dream never materialised, the temple remained an imaginary creation - until now. Bozar reached back to her notebooks and built a VR installation of Hilma's vision in the exhibition, conceived by Stolpe Publishing and Acute Art. Up to this day, these visions continue to inspire contemporary artists like Carsten Höller, Christine Ödlund, Daniel Youssef, Cecilia Edefalk and Lars Olof Loeld.
Swedish Ecstasy
Location: Rue Ravenstein, 23, 1000 Brussels
