Domaine des Etangs is hosting an exhibition of work by the legendary Yves Klein on view until January 29, 2021. The estate in Massignac, France is comprised of an 11th-century chateau surrounded by 2500-acres of majestic landscape. The location—recently redesigned by Isabelle Stanislas—offers an engaging dialogue with the artist’s work.
“I am the painter of space. I am not an abstract painter but, on the contrary, a figurative artist, and a realist. Let us be honest, to paint space, I must be in position, I must be in space,” said Klein.
Courtesy of Domaine des Etangs.
“Yves Klein: Elements and Colors” is curated by Philippe Siauve and president of Yves Klein Archives Daniel Moquay, and includes 60 pieces as well as a series of films on the artist. Nature is a recurring theme in the late artist’s practice. Series like Fire Paintings, Cosmogonies, Monochromes, Anthropometries, Pure Pigment, Planetary Reliefs, and immaterial works demonstrate his interest in creativity and experimentation.
Of note is Architecture de l’air, a utopian world where Klein imagined cities built with exclusively fire, air, and water. This spiritual and elemental thread throughout the artist’s work encourages visitors to “see what was visible in the absolute.”
Yves Klein at Domaine des Etangs; photo by Arthur Pequin.
Said Klein, “After all, my purpose is to extract and conclude the trace of the immediate from any incidence of natural objects—human, animal, vegetable, or atmospheric circumstances.”
Yves Klein at Domaine des Etangs; photo by Arthur Pequin.
