When you think about the pioneers of abstract art, does the name Hilma af Klint come to mind? Before the Guggenheim Museum hosted her work in 2019, few outside of her native country of Sweden were aware of her. In this dual timeline story, three authors aim to change your knowledge in a fictionalized account of her life. Hilma and a group of artists and writers they called De Fem (The Five), started meeting on Friday nights to support and explore their artistic abilities as well as their intrigue with spirits and unknown forces, which they would soon come to believe were guiding them. The story alternates to the present where associate art curator Eden Elliot learns about Hilma's art and recommends that her extraordinary and inventive work be brought to the Guggenheim. The book begins in 1933 with seventy-one-year-old Hilma packing up her inventive artwork to be sealed away for future generations, not to be opened until twenty years after her death.
How creative that a book which celebrates the joining forces of artists would be written by three talented authors: Sofia Lundberg, Alyson Richman, and M.J. Rose. The result is seamless and well done. The Friday Night Club is a fascinating story about women who bravely worked to transcend the norms of society. Give yourself time to read it as you'll be continually stopping to Google the pieces of art mentioned as they are being worked on in the novel. You'll learn that Hilma's first abstract painting was painted five years before Kandinsky's first abstract work. Kandinsky is hailed as the father of the pure abstraction movement in the early 20th century. This book makes it clear that the movement actually had a mother.
Many thanks to Berkley for the opportunity to read this book in advance. If the history of art fascinates you, be sure to check it out.
Rated 4.25 out of 5 stars.
Historical Fiction.
Publication Date: May 16, 2023.
Please "like" this post if The Friday Night Club sounds like a book you might like to read. I'd love to know. Scroll below the photo and click on the red outlined heart on the lower right-hand side of the page. Comments can also be left below.
Comments