Yves Klein

Professor and Mrs. Werner Ruhnau, Essen (acquired directly from the artist)
Galerie Hans Mayer, Düsseldorf
Barbara Jacobson, Beverly Hills (acquired from the above in 2002)

Paul Wember, Yves Klein, Cologne 1969, p. 74

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is brighter and more vibrant in the original, and there is slightly less purple throughout. The catalogue illustration fails to fully convey the rich, soft texture of the pigment and the powdery surface of the work. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is a very faint rub mark in the upper left corner. No restoration is apparent under ultra-violet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

With its gorgeous surface texture, Yves Klein's IKB 115 from 1959 embodies the artist's romanticized belief of the immaterial world.  Seemingly embracing the form of the ready-made in the age of mass production, Klein's series of blue monochrome paintings in actuality rejects these ideas through the artist's insistence on the unique value of each individual work. For Klein, the worth of each resided in the irreproducible artistic creativity instilled in it.  The artist's belief in the existence of an immaterial world or 'the void' stemmed from his study of Zen Buddhism, Judo, and philosophy.  Klein used his spirituality as a path to knowledge of human nature and the universe rather than as an escape, and he was optimistic and adventurous, thriving on exploring new terrain.  These beliefs are crucial to understanding Klein's art. 

IKB 115 requires the viewer to deeply engage in a hypnotic interaction with the work.  'International Klein Blue' (patented by Klein in 1960) denotes space, purity, and freedom. With no apparent trace of the artist's hand, the electric blue pigment saturates the canvas without variation in complete uninterrupted unity.  Rather than juxtaposing colour, Klein favoured the purity of one unmediated colour.  The picture plane is flat, without variation of colour and brushstroke, lacking hierarchy in tone and texture.  Klein, among other artists at the time, was seeking to create a more truthful art and the monochrome is the penultimate sensory experience on the path to completely undoing the pictorial tradition.  Klein noted, "What pleased me above all, was pure pigments in powder like the ones I often saw at the wholesale color dealers...it was truly colour in itself...living and tangible colour material." (the artist cited in Exhibition Catalogue, Cologne, Museum Ludwig, Yves Klein, 1994, p. 59)

Klein bridged the gap between abstraction and conceptual art with an understated confrontational drama in the monochrome paintings.  The unity and infinity of the blueness brings to mind sea and sky.  Klein was drawn to nature and the evocative atmosphere of the limitless in these blue expanses, captivated by both their freedom and rich color.  In the present work Klein seeks to create a space for the viewer in relation to an infinite universe.  IKB 115 and the IKB series are intensely captivating, enigmatic and visual clarifications of this existential quandary.