Yves Klein: 1928-1962

Yves Klein was born on April 28, 1928 in Nice, France. He had no formal art training though both parents were artists. Between 1948 and 1952, he traveled to Italy, Great Britain, Spain, and Japan where he became a master at judo, achieving a 4th degree black-belt. In 1954, Klein settled in Paris and began his career as an artist.

A student of Eastern religions and Rosicrucianism, Klein’s quest for pure color led him to paint in monochrome. He worked with a chemist to develop his “International Klein Blue” which was made from pure colour pigment and a binding medium. Klein considered monochrome painting to be an “open window to freedom, and the possibility of being immersed in the immeasurable existence of color.”

“Klein presented his work in forms that were recognized as art but would then take away the expected content of that form (paintings without pictures, a book without words, a musical composition without in fact composition) leaving only a shell. He wanted his subjects to be represented by their imprint: the image of their absence.” (1)

Klein was a showman and one of his most famous events was the imprinting of paper with naked models smeared with blue paint, as he directed their performance to music. As well as his monochrome works, Klein created sculptures using sea sponges, paintings made with fire, and is well known for his exhibit called The Void, in which he chose to exhibit an empty gallery room, void of everything but a large cabinet.

During his brief career, Klein’s body of work was an important precursor to art movements including minimal, conceptual, land and performance art. Yves Klein died of a heart attack on June 6, 1962 at the height of his career. He was 34 years old.

I have seen several “Klein’s” in my travels and have to admit, I was never that impressed by them. The blue is enticing but without knowing the history or the intention of the works, I didn’t give them much attention. I think my next encounter with Klein will be a completely different experience.

Sources: Centre Pompidou, Wikipedia, Coskun Fine Art