Product Description

Translated by Andrea Loselle. With an introduction by Klaus Ottmann. RESTANY's groundbreaking, exegetic study show show the myth of fire was the culmination of the artist's quest for the immaterial. The visionary French conceptual artist and "painter of the Void" Yves Klein (1928-1962) was an artist with a keen philosophical mind, yet deeply spiritual.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1437335 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-15
• Released on: 2005-07-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 132 pages

From Publishers Weekly
"The aim of this book," Restany begins, "is to situate Fire in Yves Klein's work from the triple perspectives of mythic projection, ritual symbology, and artistic practice." We are told that the myth of fire was central to Klein's work, and that the artist's use of the colors blue, gold and pink find their "logical synthesis in the flame of fire." But how the nature of fire relates to Klein's cosmogony remains somewhat of a mystery. As critical advisor and friend of Klein, Restany ( Bernard Stern ) is very knowledgeable about his subject matter but his use of art jargon is so nonchalant, and his terms are so overwhelmingly abstract, that it is close to impossible for the reader to glean much insight on Klein. Another cause for the obliqueness of the text is the translation. Throughout the text, one can sense Loselle grasping for English abstractions big enough to match French phrases that have no English equivalent. Even a sentence with dates and titles is transformed into art-historic nebulae: "In 1960, Yves Klein's Magnum Opus enters its cosmological phase and comes closer and closer to the glorious body." Illustrations.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
PIERRE RESTANY (1930-2003) was a French art critic best known for championing the artists he dubbed the Nouveaux Realistes, which included Yves Klein, Jean Tinguely, Arman, Raymond Hains, and Niki de Saint Phalle. Restany's impassioned writing and organizational energy was a crucial factor in the movement's success. Following the dissolution of the group in 1963, Restany became a peripatetic critic, curator and magazine editor, contributing regularly to the Italian review DOMUS and publishing numerous books and countless catalogue essays. When the experimental exhibition space Palais de Tokyo opened in Paris in 2002, he was named its president, an honor that acknowledged his relevance to a new generation of socially oriented French artists and critics. His books include YVES KLEIN; L'AUTRE FACE DE L'ART; and UNE VIE DANS L'ART.

Customer Reviews

Excellent introduction to important 20th century artist
This small book is an excellent introduction to one of the most important 20th century artists, written by Pierre Restany, a distinguished French critic and a close friend of the artist who died in 1962. It is a first-hand account focusing on one of Klein's most poetic works, his paintings done with fire. A great book for art educators and art lovers alike.