Yves Klein (1928-1962) – FC 1 (Fire-Color 1)
Dry pigment and synthetic resin on panel
Executed in 1962
Estimate: $30 – 40 million
Yves Klein’s ‘FC 1’ to be offered at Christie’s On May 8th 2012, Christie’s will auction ‘FC 1 (Fire-Color 1)’, the most important work by Yves Klein ever to be offered at auction.]]>
April 8th, 2012, source: Christie’s
Executed a few weeks before his premature death, at the age of 34, “FC 1” is widely acclaimed as his ultimate masterpiece. One of the most important works of Post-War European art to come to the market , FC1 acquired an iconic status soon after the release of Klein’s movie, La Revolution Bleue, where the celebrated recording of the painting’s creation inscribed FC 1 in the 20th Century collective memory.
“Yves Klein’s FC 1 is to Europe what Pollock’s ‘Numver One’ is to America. It is the ultimate heroic work fusing all of the elements that Klein learnt to master over his short and intense career.” stated Loic Gouzer, International Specialist, Post-War and Contemporary Art.
With the creation of FC 1, Klein pushed the concept of the heroic artist to a new level. As an alchemist manipulating the highly volatile elements of gas and fire, Klein created a work that represents the epitome of what he called “dangerous paintings”, where Klein risked his life and the life of his models. Privately owned, FC 1 has been featured prominently in all of his major retrospectives, including those held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC.
FC 1 represents the pinnacle of Yves Klein’s career, both chronologically and spiritually. As Pierre Restany, the critical authority on Yves Klein and Post war European art, noted that Fire-Color painting constitutes “the culmination of Yves Klein’s artistic practice and the pure classicism of his pictorial style.“
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