Topline
A receipt granting ownership of an “invisible work of art” by famed French postwar artist Yves Klein will go under the hammer next month for as much as $550,000, according to Sotheby’s Paris, which said Klein’s “Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility” works were a precursor to today’s wildly popular non-fungible tokens.
Black and white portrait of French artist Yves Klein (1928 – 1962) in a bowler hat as he stands in … [+]
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Key Facts
Klein sold a series of receipts for his “invisible” zones — or zone de sensibilité picturale immatérielle — over several years in exchange for gold, but very few of the receipts still exist, according to the auction house, because many of the buyers opted to take part in a performative art piece with Klein that involved burning the receipt and throwing half of the gold into the Seine River in Paris.
The auction, to be held April 6, will include a 1959 receipt declaring the holder an owner of the invisible zone, Sotheby’s Paris said (Klein specified in 1959 the piece was transferable).
This particular piece was saved by art collector Jacques Kugel, who chose not to burn his receipt, and Klein used the gold from the transaction for his giant “Monogolds” series, according to the auction house.
Klein’s “invisible” pieces can be viewed as a precursor to NFTs and other digital art forms that have grown in popularity over the past year, according to Sotheby’s Paris, which said it will accept cryptocurrency in the sale of the receipt, a first for the 55-year-old French arm of the auction house.
The receipt has been on display at galleries all over Europe, including the Reina Sofia in Madrid, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Hayward Gallery in London.
Tangent
Many in the art world drew comparisons to Klein’s work completed more than six decades ago when NFTs exploded in popularity last year. The ownership of NFTs, which often take the form of virtual artwork, is recorded on the blockchain. For Klein’s invisible zones, “ownership” can only be proved with one of his physical receipts, which were often burned in a performance. In March 2021, an NFT by digital artist Beeple sold for $69.3 million, making him the third most-expensive artist alive after David Hockney and Jeff Koons.
Key Background
Klein, who is also remembered for inventing his own shade of blue, often explored intangibility and immateriality in his work. Famously, he held a Paris exhibition in 1958 in which customers paid to enter an exhibit called Le Vide (The Void) only to enter and discover an empty gallery, painted white. The show was a huge success, and received thousands of visitors. Klein created his first zone of empty space in 1959 and offered them sparingly until his death in 1962.
Further Reading
Did an avant-garde French artist sell the first NFT? (The Economist)
Beeple NFT Sells For $69.3 Million, Becoming Most-Expensive Ever (Forbes)
You Can Buy The Largest Diamond Ever Auctioned—A 555 Carat Black Gem—With Crypto (Photos) (Forbes)
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