Table bleue, 1961

Sculpture Acrylic glass, IKB pigment, chrome/metal

Mass: 37.50 x 125.20 x 100 cm
 

Yves Klein was a French painter, sculptor and performance artist. He was a co-founder and leading representative of "Nouveau Réalisme" (New Realism) in France and is considered a precursor of Pop Art. He is best known for his monochrome pictorial compositions, especially in the ultramarine blue he developed and patented under the name "International Klein Blue / IKB". Typical of Klein is his quiet, meditative way of working. Yves Klein was born on 28 April 1928 in Nice as the child of a painter couple. In 1955, he moved to Paris and founded his "monochromes" - monochrome pictures whose colour-psychological effect primarily has a suction effect on the viewer, who literally feels "drawn into the picture". In 1961 Klein developed, among other objects, the "Couch Table". Initially, two prototypes were created, for which he applied the colour pigments to the wooden surface but never installed the protective glass. It was not until 1963, after his death from a heart attack at the age of 34, that his widow had an edition of patented plastic tables produced. Klein's works can be seen in practically all the world's renowned museums and collections of modern art.