Yves Klein Material Archive

In preparation for the opening of “Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers” we are experimenting with letting the artist himself introduce the show. From May 1 until the exhibition opens on May 20, the Hirshhorn is turning its social media outlets over to Klein. Audiences will experience him in his own words, as he explains his goals, process, artworks and projects.

“For this first U.S. retrospective in nearly 30 years of one of the 20th century’s most influential artists, we felt it was essential not only to present Klein as the maker of beautiful objects but also as a thinker, a philosopher who paved the way for future generations,” says exhibition co-curator Kerry Brougher, chief curator and deputy director of the Museum.

This launches a brand new programmatic endeavor using today’s communications tools to provide dynamic, thought-provoking content that extends the ideas and energy of the exhibition. Quotes by Klein will be posted daily to Twitter and Facebook with links to accompanying images, video and audio on Flickr and YouTube. As the material is made available through social media, it will also be posted to this ongoing timeline that will be built up daily on the Hirshhorn website. At the end of 20 days, audiences will have a complete record of the daily postings collected in one place.

Thus Klein will live online, a platform that fulfills his expressed desire “to realize in my own creations that ‘transparence,’ that immeasurable ‘void’ in which lives the permanent and absolute spirit freed of all dimensions.”