Yves Klein, LE VIDE, Iris Clert, Paris, 1958 – AdA Invitations
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Yves Klein, LE VIDE, Galerie Iris Clert, Paris, 1958
Opening and Performance: April 28, 1958, 9–12 p.m.
Duration: April 28–May 5, 1958
Dimensions: Envelope: 8.6 x 17.9 cm; invitation: 7.2 x 17 cm; RSVP: 5.2 x 8.9 cm
Further Information: In his second exhibition Le Vide (emptiness) at the relatively new Galerie Iris Clert, Yves Klein chose not to present any works of art, but to simply paint the walls in white, letting the strong neon lights beam onto the empty space. Clert organized for two officials from the Republican Guard to act as bouncers, protecting the gallery doors from approximately 3000 guests keen to attend the show’s opening. The invitation card shows a text by Pierre Restany, who had cooperated with Klein for many previous and forthcoming exhibitions. In this text, Restany invites guests to participate in a “manifestation of a perception synthesis,” which would legitimize Klein’s “painterly search for an ecstatic and direct emotion.” After 1960, Klein and Restany jointly founded the Klein Bureau, responsible for establishing a patent for Klein’s color, International Klein Blue.
ALW
Images: Images of the invitation and all other archival documents shown on this page are part of the online collection of Archiv der Avantgarden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. The photo of Arman’s multiple “FULL UP” is by Anna-Lena Werner, taken at the private collection of Egidio Marzona in Berlin.
