William Klein is cult figure in photography and film, and although long noted as a painter, his early work has remained largely unseen for over sixty years. This book presents a selection of extremely rare Klein paintings from the late 1940s and early 1950s. It also includes projects for murals, some of which executed on a monumental scale for the first time, Lettrist works, fashion photographs and 'Printed Contacts.' The show also maps a decisive moment in the artist's development: in 1952, while photographing his painted 'Turning Panels' commissioned by architect Angelo Mangiarotti, Klein captured the blur of objects in movement. The incident set the artist off on a series of experiments in the dark room, in which he developed the blueprint of his photographic abstraction. Giving a new perspective on his entire career, this book clearly portrays the foundations of Klein's unique visual language as his trajectory is traced through painting, architecture, photography, books and film.

Author Biography

After graduation,William Klein (born in NewYork, 1928) settled in Paris and became a painter. He returned to NewYork in 1954, and made a photographic logbook that won him worldwide acclaim: Life is Good and Good forYou in NewYork (1956). Later, he produced books dedicated toTokyo, Moscow and Paris. Painter, photographer, filmmaker and graphic designer, Klein eludes all labels and categories.