Yves Klein

Painter, Sculptor

Born in Nice in 1928 and died in Paris in 1962, Yves Klein is a French visual artist. Coming from a family of artists, he did not however intend to work as an artist and studied to become an officer in the merchant navy.

Self-taught artist, he began to paint monochromes at the end of the 1940s.

In 1956, he created International Klein Blue (IKB), the famous “Klein blue”, a shade representing according to him the most perfect expression of blue.

Become globally recognized, he is considered as one of the fathers of New Realism with Arman and Pierre Restany. His works are often ephemeral: a release of Klein blue balloons, a gallery painted entirely in blue.

He introduced two new colors in addition to blue in his work: pink and gold. The union of these three colors in a work would ensure the link between the flesh and the spirit. This iconography close to religion is dedicated to allowing everyone to explore a beyond.

Despite a very short career, he is today considered one of the greatest representatives of French and international contemporary art. Not hesitating to stage himself in his art, Yves Klein himself participates in the construction of his myth as evidenced by his collaboration with many photographers and directors.