Yves Klein (1928–1962) was one of the leading figures of the European postwar avant-garde. Though his career lasted less than a decade, his influence on contemporary art has been profound and lasting.
A co-founder of the Nouveau Réalisme movement, Klein developed a radical body of work centered on immateriality, pure color, and transcendence. He is best known for his iconic blue monochromes, painted using his patented pigment International Klein Blue (IKB), registered in 1960.
Klein also pioneered groundbreaking performative practices such as his Anthropometries: using the female body as a living brush, as well as fire paintings and the conceptual Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility.
Balancing spirituality, provocation, and innovation, Yves Klein redefined the very notion of painting, presence, and the material nature of art.
