Yves Klein (1928-1962)

'I did not care for colors crushed in oil. To me, they seemed dead: what I liked above all else were pure pigments, in powder form, such as I could see them at wholesale paint shops. They had a proprietary shine and a life on their own. They were extraordinary. This really was color in and of itself. Colored matter, alive and tangible. What saddened me was to see that no sooner was this incandescent powder mixed with a glue or any medium to fix it onto a supporting base, it lost all its value, became dull, lowered its tone' Y. Klein.