❥ paintings for the temple

this week in outsider art features hilma af klint, ian felice, a bunch of animals from the international folk art museum and a strange boat drifted ashore in japan

Mar 30, 2025

THIS WEEK IN OUTSIDER ART

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**HILMA AF KLINT** The Dove, no. 9 (1915) // © Stiftelsen Hilma af Klints Verk (Photo: Albin Dahlström/Moderna Museet)

"Between 1906 and 1915, Hilma af Klint created “The Paintings for the Temple”. It comprises 193 paintings and drawings, divided into series and groups. The overall theme of the series is to convey different aspects of human evolution, instigated by polarity. “The Paintings for the Temple” also thematises different stages of development that every human being goes through during life on earth. The temple in the title refers not only to a physical building, which af Klint imagined would house the work, but also to the body as a temple for the soul." (Moderna Museet Malmö)
To be clear -- Hilma af Klint wasn't self-taught (she was trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Sweden), a folk artist, nor by many definitions, an outsider artist. Her later works would make her a visionary artist, which is defined as "art that purports to transcend the physical world and portray a wider vision of awareness including spiritual or mystical themes, or is based in such experiences".

As possibly the first ever abstract artist in the Western world, af Klint left behind her traditional art-making style at the age of 44, and in the early 1900s started creating artwork which she noted as 'being directed by a force that would literally guide her hand'.

**IAN FELICE** Last Dance (2021) // Oil on linen via *the* *artist*

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Cat (ca. 1960; Oaxaca, Mexico) // Wood, Paint via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**ARTIST NOT RECORDED** Comb with Figure of Skeleton (date unknown; San Lucas, Mexico) // Horn; 4 7/16 x 1 15/16 in., 1/8 in. (11.3 x 5 cm, 0.3 cm) via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**MANUEL JIMENEZ** Iguana (ca. 1960; Oaxaca, Mexico) // Wood, Paint; 2 13/16 x 17 1/16 x 3 15/16 in. (7.2 x 43.3 x 10 cm) via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**MARY K. BORKOWSKI** Trapped (1968) // Cotton and silk thread on polyester; 26 7/8 x 32 " (68.3 x 81.3 cm) via *American Folk Art Museum*

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Mouse with Human Body (ca. 1960; Oaxaca, Mexico) // Wood, Paint; 10 3/8 x 2 5/8 x 2 13/16 in. (26.3 x 6.6 x 7.1 cm) via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**GREGORY VAN MAANEN** Untitled (1982) // Acrylic on Masonite; 20 1/4 × 16 1/4 in. (51.44 × 41.28 cm) via *Milwaukee Art Museum*

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Animal (ca. 1960; Jalisco, Mexico) // Ceramic, Paint; 10 1/4 x 3 1/16 x 5 1/16 in. (26 x 7.8 x 12.8 cm) via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**VERED GERSZTENKORN** Owl Woman (2022) // Acrylic on Wood; 12 x 12 in via *Singulart*

**CHRISTINE RANDOLPH** What's For Dinner? (2022) // Crayon on Paper; 19.75" x 25.5" via *Van Der Plas Gallery*

Illustration of the “The Strange Boat Drifted Ashore on the Fief of Lord Ogasawara” from Hyoryu Kishu (Archive of Castaways), ca. 1868 via *Public Domain Review*

According to the legend, a young woman aged between 18 and 20 arrived aboard the "hollow boat" on February 22, 1803. Fishermen brought her inland, but she was unable to communicate in Japanese. The fishermen returned her and her vessel to the sea, and it drifted away. (wikipedia)

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Cats Hooked Rug (c. 1910s; America) // Wool; 2′2″ × 3′4″ and 0.25″ thick via *Chairish*

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FEATURED ARTIST OF THE WEEK

**MIKKI ITZIGSOHN** Black Flowers (c. 2024-2025) via *the artist*

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FROM THE COLLECTIVE

**ESTEBAN WHITESIDE** Only WE (2024) // Acrylic and epoxy on wood — *Original work of art work by Esteban Whiteside, featured in the 2025 Outsider Art Fair in New York City. This work is ready to hang and measures 14 inches x 11 inches.*

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