Lot 09308

YVES KLEIN: IKB – Timbre Bleu, [Paris]: self published, 1957-59, 2,6×2,1 cm. A singled perforated and unused stamp covered with the famous Klein blue IKB (International Klein Blue). These famous stamps were originally created for mailing invitations for the double show at Iris Clert’s and Colette Allendy’s with practically consecutive opening days – 4 days apart, in May 1957.

“The stamp clearly pushed the limits of artistic liberty as well as the legal use of the postal communication system. By adeptly negotiating with the proper personnel at the post office (and encouraging them with extra payment), Klein had arranged for his facsimiles (‘facsimile’ postage perhaps, but ‘real’ art) to function as valid stamps in the regular mail. He also made sure that the cancellation markings were placed directly over the stamps so that their ‘authenticity’ would be indisputable.” [Stich, 1994] “[Klein] (…) was sufficiently concerned to establish whether announcements bearing fake stamps such as these actually went through the mail that he repeatedly addressed invitations to himself and saved envelopes returned to the sender because the addressee had moved. According to Iris Clert, these mailings were arranged by paying the normal required postage at the post office while simultaneously tipping the postal clerk to cancel the postcards or envelopes over or near Klein’s stamps. It was an effort by Klein to widen the dragnet for his art – in this instance to include and co-opt the government. Each postmark was an official validation, a stamp of approval on top of Klein’s stamp of blue, and each postman who carried one of these postcards had briefly to become the deliverer of Klein’s blue, as the addresses had to become on some level receivers of it.” [Rosenthal, 1984]. Klein continued using and ‘producing’ these stamps for another two years, up to 1959. “With the mailing of his blue stamp, Klein not only created one of the first artist postage stamps, but also involved it in a postal action, prefiguring not only the widespread genre of artistamps in the following decades, but the conceptual philatelic actions of the Fluxus group in the sixties.“ [Held, 1995]

Condition: A beautiful example retaining its subtle texture. Excellent provenance: The timbre bleu was originally in Pontus Hulténs [former director of Moderna Museet] collection and then passed on to John Melin’s collection [the designer of the posters and flyers of Moderna Museet from 1960s to 80s]. It was then finally acquired directly from Melin by the previous owner [prominent Scandinavian dealer].