1. Yves Klein, Sans titre, date inconnue, huile sur toile
© Succession Yves Klein/2022, ProLitteris, Zurich
Beyond the colour of Yves Klein
The starting point of the exhibition "Dreaming in the dream of others" was a conversation between the Fondation and Archive Yves Klein in Paris with the Fondation Opale, which is the recipient of the collection of Aborignal art of Bérengère Primat. During the inventory of the Klein's archive, they discover some early drawings, most of them referring to Aboriginal art, thus, they asked the expertise of the Fondation Opale to help them determine and study those motifs.
But first, we need to remember a few biographical events. Yves Klein was the children of two painters. Fred Klein (1898-1990) and Marie Raymond (1908-1988), the second wrote many articles about the Grottes de Lascaux, which was just discovered in the 40s by four teenagers.
Most probably, for the study of the Grottes de Lascaux, Marie Raymond bring Yves to discover those "drawings" which magically survived for thousands of years. Four years later, Yves enrolled into the National School of the Merchant Navy and the National School of Oriental Languages in Nice, before working the next year in a bookstore.
This first job might help him to discover many art books regarding Aboriginal art and the Grottes de Lascaux. At the time, Aboriginal art was poorly known in Europe, and it was perceived not as the expression of another spirit, but as the survivor of the neolithic era.
2. Yves Klein, Hiroshima, (ANT 79), ca. 1961, pigment pur et résine synthétique sur papier marouflé sur toile. The Menil Collection, Houston, États-Unis | © Succession Yves Klein/2022, ProLitteris, Zurich
Making traces
In the practice of Yves Klein, traces are deeply important and meaningful, in his earliest work he recreates the traces of the Grottes de Lascaux and Aboriginal art, later he decided to create traces of bodys in his paintings by inviting models to paint on his canvas (Anthropometries). Later, he makes traces of the fire with his fire paintings made between 1961 and 1962. He also makes traces of important and historic events such as the Hiroshima bomb on August 6, 1945.
Beside making traces with his art, one of his passion and mains source of inspiration is Judo. This practice will lead him to his first important series of "Anthropometries", in which the physical and spiritual dimensions come together into a canvas. During it's first ceremony/presentation at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art in Paris on March 9, 1960, the artist invited the public, after the performative painting to have an open dialogue about myth and ritual and their relationship to art.
For him, the "Anthropometries" he produced during the event have nothing to do with figuration, but rather with lightness, purity and energy. In "Hiroshima", one of the most important artworks of the series, Yves Klein refers to the atomic bomb that fell on the Japanese city on August 6, 1945, causing instant death and destruction. But the bomb also left traces corresponding to the projection of objects, bodies and street furniture, thus making visible their shadow cast on the ground. The work thus evokes these imprints of bodies reduced to ashes, which he discovered while spending 15 months in Japan for his judo training.
3. Yves Klein, Peinture de Feu Couleur sans titre, (FC 2), 1961, papier brûlé. © Succession Yves Klein/2022, ProLitteris, Zurich
The four elements
Lastly, the exploration of the four elements (fire, water, air and earth) occupies an important place in the works of Yves Klein. In most of his works, you can find the impregnation of rain, water and wind such has in his "Fire Paintings" with are made using flames that Yves Klein directs to achieve the composition on paper or cardboard supports. As with the "Cosmogonies", the "Fire Paintings" are sometimes impregnated with imprints or traces of bodies and water.
The four elements are linking this exhibition to the works of the collection of the Fondation Opale, such as the one of Judy Watso : "balangarra, wanami bala / six lunes, ciel aquatique" from 2019, the artist evoke the impregnation of the natural landscape in the canvas with the use of natural elements to create his works such as rain, shells, clay or bark. The practice of Judy Watso is thus deeply linked to nature, and its elements, as well as dust and insects.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Fondation Opale
Date: 10.12.2022 – 16.4.2023
Curators: Georges Petitjean and Philippe Siauve
Ticket: Available at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Fondation Opale
Route de Crans 1
CH-1978 Lens
Phone: +41 27 483 46 10
Mail: info@fondationopale.ch