Published on the occasion of the exhibition held at Lenbachhaus Munich, Munich, 6 November 2018 - 10 March 2019. Abstract paintings were being produced even before Kandinsky. Completely independently from each other, Georgiana Houghton (1814 - 1884) in England, Hilma af Klint (1862 - 1944) in Sweden and Emma Kunz (1892 - 1963) in Switzerland each developed an individual abstract pictorial language. What they had in common was a desire to make visible the laws of nature, the intellect and the supernatural. Their works are being presented side by side for the first time in an exhibition. The three women artists all found their artistic language within the context of the spiritual movements of their times: Houghton in spiritism, af Klint in theosophy and Kunz in naturopathy. Their artworks bear witness to a 'mediumistic' praxis: Houghton and af Klint were inspired by higher beings to paint, while Kunz developed her drawings with the help of a pendulum. Their works are accompanied by barely known films by Harry Smith (1923-1991) and the brothers John Whitney (1917-1995) and James Whitney (1921-1982). In post-war California, artists produced experimental films in which they sought a unity of different sensory perceptions. Using innovative production methods and new media such as film and computer graphics, they created abstract, esoteric imagery. For the first time, we are presenting these extremely rare works together in an exhibition. .