Image: Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson
Hilma’s Ghost is an artist collective formed by Dannielle Tegeder and Sharmistha Ray.
The collective’s name pays homage to the Swedish mystic and painter Hilma af Klint (1862–1944), who is recognized as one of the first abstract artists in Western art history. Working collaboratively—with one another, spiritual practitioners, and unseen energies—Hilma’s Ghost incorporates practices including ritual, divination, automatic drawing, and color magic into its artmaking process.
The presentation includes new paintings and moving-image works that operate as tarot readings, talismans of protection, and ritual propositions. The works propose alternative strategies for meaning-making and offer abstraction as a tool for resistance, healing, and collective transformation. Through vibrant color, geometric forms, and symbolic language, ‘Light as Resistance’ positions art as a spiritual technology and a feminist act against the darkness of contemporary life.
Hilma’s Ghost is a feminist artist collective co-founded by Tegeder and Ray, both artists and educators. Its work fuses contemporary art with modern spirituality through forms of divination and ritual. The collective’s work includes paintings and drawings, surrealist games, a tarot deck, ritual object-based installations, pedagogical workshops, curated exhibitions, community projects, and artist books.
Since its founding in 2020, Hilma’s Ghost has completed more than 20 collaborative projects and 80 public programs worldwide. Its ‘Abstract Futures Tarot’ is in its third edition. In 2022, the collective launched a roving art school that has reached more than 8,000 people. In May 2025, it unveiled a 600-square-foot glass mosaic mural at Grand Central Station, commissioned by MTA Arts & Design.
Scheduled programming on March 6 includes a members’ exhibition preview from 6 to 7 pm, with a curators toast sponsored by Queen of Cups wines. A public opening reception is scheduled from 7 to 9 pm, with food by Parkie Sandwiches, drinks by Brick Box Brewery, and exhibition-inspired activations on the plaza.
Support for the exhibition is provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Ford Foundation; Teiger Foundation; Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Galería RGR; SECRIST | BEACH; and MOCA Tucson’s Board of Trustees and Members.
