International Klein Blue

International

Klein Blue

At first there is nothing, then

there is a profound nothingness, after that a blue profundity.

History of Creation

And then in 1956, I chose the blue pigment ultramarine, an extremely saturated pigment that is the perfect expression of blue. The pure pigment, matte and bright, fascinated me with unparalleled intensity.

Since childhood, I have been fascinated by the blue skies of the Mediterranean Sea, to the point that I felt a dislike for the birds that tried to poke holes in the most beautiful and largest of my creations.

I was 19 years old when my friends and I decided to "divide the world": Armand got the earth and its wealth, Claude Pascal got the air, and I got the sky and its infinity. Since that night in 1947, the blue of sky, space, and infinity has been the color of Yves Klein.

The very substance of paint, its colorful pigment, a volatile powder, elusive and fragile, expresses a "pictorial sensitivity to the pure state. Traditional binders, which allowed the pigment to be fixed to the base, altered its luster.

Finally, with the help of Edouard Adam, a Parisian paint dealer, I discovered the synthetic resin Rhodopas M60A, which allows me to achieve the desired effect: ultramarine retains its full color characteristics

The invention was named IKB "International Klein Blue" and registered as intellectual property with the National Institute of Industrial Property in 1960.

The exhibitions

that made me an artist

In 1957, in a gallery in Milan, I exhibited eleven blue paintings of the same format (78 x 56 cm). The works hung on brackets at a distance of 20 cm from the wall. For the first time I presented a room of blue monochromes, one of which Lucio Fontana bought.

Then the famous "The Void" exhibit took place. It was decided to let ten people (there were 3,000 people who wanted to attend) by beautifully designed invitations, and the guests were treated to blue cocktails. Inside, there was only an empty room and an equally empty museum shelf.

In 1960 I held a public exhibition of anthropometrics — models smeared with Klein's "International Blue" were dragged across a canvas lying on the floor to the accompaniment of the Monotone Symphony.

Learn about upcoming exhibitions