Yves Klein, born in 1928 in Nice, France, embarked on a multifaceted journey that significantly impacted the art world. His early education at the École Nationale de la Marine Marchande and the École Nationale des Langues Orientales Vivantes was followed by a distinguished career as a judoka, during which he earned the highest honors in the martial art and spent fifteen months in Japan. It wasn’t until his return to Paris in 1954 that Klein fully devoted himself to art, initiating his profound exploration of monochrome.

As a leading figure in the Nouveau Réalisme movement, Klein’s innovative approach blurred the lines between conceptual art, sculpture, painting, and performance. His mission to ‘liberate colour from the prison that is the line’ led him to focus on monochrome painting, which he believed uniquely revealed the ‘absolute.’

By prioritizing expression over figurative form, Klein transcended traditional artistic representation, conceptualizing his entire life as an artwork. By choosing to express feeling rather than figurative form, Yves Klein moved beyond ideas of artistic representation, conceiving the work of art instead as a trace of communication between the artist and the world; invisible truth made visible. His works, he said, were to be ‘the ashes of his art’, traces of that which the eye could not see.

Central to Klein’s practice was his use of blue, particularly his signature hue, International Klein Blue (IKB). This intense, vibrant blue was his means to capture immateriality and infinity, engaging viewers on a profound level that transcends visual perception, inviting them to ‘see with their souls’ and ‘read with their imaginations.’

Klein’s influential career, which ended abruptly with his early demise in 1962, left an indelible mark on the art world. His works are held in prestigious collections worldwide, including the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Gallery in London, among others.