Press release | Yves Klein and his artist family Fred, Marie and Rotraut

For the very first time in the Netherlands, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam is presenting the extraordinary story and combined bodies of work of the artist Yves Klein and his artistic family members: his father Fred Klein, his mother Marie Raymond, and his wife Rotraut Uecker. Yves Klein is famous around the world for his iconic monochrome paintings, but not many people will know that his family members were successful artists in their own right. Another lesser known fact is that Yves Klein’s parents held both French and Dutch citizenship, which means that there has always been a special relationship with the Netherlands. The exhibition not only highlights the artistic exchange between the family members, but also zooms in on the Klein family’s ties to the Netherlands.

While artworks by the different Klein family members are included in the collections of various Dutch and international museums, art institutions and collections, it is surprising that their joint story has never been told before. This is now possible, partly due to new research. In this exhibition all the different aspects come together. For the first time since 1965, 30 works by Yves Klein will now again be shown in the Netherlands, here combined with over 40 works by his family members.

To this day, the iconic monochrome paintings of Yves Klein (1928-1962) continue to have a great appeal around the world. Especially his intensely blue monochromes that evoke the infinity and immateriality of space. The unique composition of pigments and binder even became known as International Klein Blue (IKB) and came to be Yves Klein’s ultimate artistic signature. But his oeuvre encompasses much more, and the same applies to the connection between his work and that of his parents and his partner, all of whom were successful artists in their own right.

Yves Klein and his father Fred Klein ​
​The colourful and dynamic compositions of Fred Klein (1898-1990), who was known as Frits Klein in the Netherlands, resonated with contemporary Dutch art collectors and art institutions. From his home in Paris, he always kept in touch with various Dutch artists, and he regularly showed his work in the Netherlands. Exhibitions of his work were organised at venues like Stedelijk Museum Schiedam in 1965, Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam in 1968, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in 1978, and at Pulchri Studio in The Hague in 1988. Despite these exhibitions he fell into obscurity, but his expressive use of colour is and was trailblazing – an element his son Yves would later refine and translate into a groundbreaking visual language of his own. Fred had a strong aversion to modernist and geometric art movements and would openly criticize his son’s work, which according to him too closely resembled the work of Piet Mondrian, their Paris neighbour.

This exhibition sheds new light on the complex artistic relationship between father and son and shows how they challenged, mirrored and eventually complemented each other in unexpected ways. Whereas Yves distanced himself from his father in artistic terms, he does share a deep artistic affinity with his mother, Marie Raymond.

Yves Klein and his mother Marie Raymond
​Marie Raymond (1909-1988) was a celebrated artist, art critic, and intellectual who had rapidly made an impressive career for herself. With her radiant, lyrical compositions she played a crucial role in the development of post-war abstract art. As a regular contributor to the Dutch art magazine Kroniek voor Kunst en Kultuur, Marie not only reported on the Parisian artworld, but also bridged the gap between the cultural scenes of the Netherlands and France. From 1946 to 1954, her ‘salons’ in the French capital were frequented by Dutch artists and museum directors who wanted to immerse themselves in the developments of the Parisian avant-garde. Her first solo exhibition took place in The Hague, with her career culminating in an important retrospective exhibition at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 1956. Stedelijk Museum Schiedam is also paying tribute to Marie’s work, with special attention for her lasting influence on Dutch and European modernist art. ​

Yves Klein and his wife Rotraut
​Yves Klein’s wife Rotraut, born as Rotraut Uecker (1938), is an exceptional artist in her own right. ​ Her drawings, paintings and sculptures originate from forms and phenomena found in nature and the cosmos. Rotraut created her first works entitled “Galaxies” by placing drops of flower mixed with water on a wooden panel, which she then covered with black Chinese ink before sanding it down, she created points of light reminiscent of stars in the cosmos. She exhibited these painted Galaxies in 1959 at the New Vision gallery of London and in 1964, at the Amsterdam art gallery Amstel 47. Her series Vol de sensibilité explores the sensitivity to form of painters such as Rubens, Cézanne, and Gauguin. During this process she projects slides of their paintings onto large sheets of paper, traces the movements she senses, and then explicitly paints over the colours. Today, Rotraut is still active as an artist. Over the years and decades, she has taken care of the creative legacy of Fred, Marie and Yves and is therefore closely involved in realising this exhibition.

At home in Schiedam ​ ​
​Schiedam was the city where both Fred and Marie exhibited their work. But there are many other reasons why this exhibition is specifically taking place here, in the Netherlands. Fred Klein was born in Bandung in the former Dutch East Indies. He grew up in Amersfoort and studied at the Rotterdam trade school before moving to Paris. ​ He maintained close ties with the Netherlands, often returning to sketch and paint at the artist residency De Pauwhof in Wassenaar. Amidst glowing reviews, his first retrospective exhibition took place at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam.

Even before deciding to become an artist, Yves regularly visited the Netherlands, either alone or with his parents. He also competed in judo tournaments in Utrecht, most famously fighting, and losing, against world champion and Dutch judo hero Anton Geesink. Yves’ fascination for judo – both as a martial art and a philosophy – had a major impact on his art, specifically on his ideas about the body, movement, and the void. ​
​Although Yves’s artistic career was short but powerful due to his early death in 1962, appreciation of his work soon became evident through artists who acquired his work and through retrospectives held abroad. In addition to Documenta 3 in Kassel in 1964, a posthumous retrospective took place at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1965, followed by an exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1969.

Book ​
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​A book of the same title will be published in Dutch and English by MER. Books in Ghent, compiled by curator Tijs Visser (director of 0-INSTITUUT) with contributions from co-curator Colin Huizing and authors Robert Fleck, Michèle Gazier, Bianca Stigter, and Victor Vanoosten. Price €29.00, ISBN 9789493491335 (Dutch edition) and ISBN 9789493491366 (English edition), soon available at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, in bookstores, and online via Merbooks.com.
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​Concept and development
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​The concept for this exhibition was developed by Tijs Visser (director of 0-INSTITUUT), who was also responsible for the exhibition Yayoi Kusama. The Dutch Years 1965–1970 at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. Colin Huizing, previously responsible for the Manzoni in Holland exhibition at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, forms the curatorial team together with Visser. Yves Klein and His Artist Family Frits, Marie and Rotraut was created in close collaboration with Yves Klein Archives and Foundation, as well as Marie Raymond Archives. The exhibition and the new book will highlight the extraordinary artistic legacy of the Klein family. ​
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With thanks to
​Municipality of Schiedam, Blockbuster Fund: VriendenLoterij, VSB Fund, the Cultural Fund, Van den Ende Foundation, FONDS Schiedam Vlaardingen e.o., Mondriaan Fund, Turing Foundation, De Groot Fund, and Zabawas.

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