A clever, quirky read-aloud biography of a leading modern artist, for kids
Artist Yves Klein always thought about how he could surprise his audience. One day, he decided that he would only paint in one color - blue. He painted canvases, globes, branches, gallery floors, and even covered people in blue paint.
Klein's story is told here with wit and eccentricity, perfectly paired with black-line illustrations and blue splashes galore. Fausto Gilberti brings movement, life, and whimsy to the true life story of one of the most important modern French artists of our time.
Meet an artist who invented his own color; painted with fire and smoke, water and wind; raced cockroaches in his spare time; and dressed as a knight at his wedding. Gilberti's funny and delightful look at the French avant-garde artist Yves Klein begins on the rainy Parisian day that inspired the artist to create his signature shade, international Klein blue. "Yves decided that from then on, he would paint everything in blue!" The story follows Yves's gonzo, expansive creative practice--covering canvases and bodies in IKB; creating blue cocktails; releasing 1,001 blue balloons; composing a symphony from a single note; and staging photographic illusions. Googly-eyed people with calligraphic arms and spidery fingers keep busy in Gilberti's delightfully cartoony black, white, and IKB-esque blue illustrations. A singular book about an inspiring charmer: "People around the world remember him not only for his blue paintings but also for the daring ways he chose to create. Bravo, Yves!" Ages 4-7. (Sept.)
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