Yves Klein was the most influential, prominent, and controversial French artist to emerge in the 1950s. Today we bring to you an amazing coffee table creation. Mostly know for another art type, he also got involved in the art furniture world.
The French provocateur tried his hand at a new medium in 1961: the center table. He made two prototypes, sprinkling pigments into wood tops, but never got around to installing the protective glass.
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In 1963, after the artist’s death, at 34, his widow produced the patented acrylic tables now beloved by everyone from Stella Schnabel to Sting. Filled with radiant pigment—International Klein Blue or hot pink—or crumpled gold leaf, they are available through Artware Editions. A new Table Bleue sells for $21,000.
The table is essentially a plexiglass box, supported by metal legs and filled with pigment in Yves’ international blue. It also comes in pink (the Table Rose) and Gold (the Table Or, filled with 3,000 sheets of gold leaf).
Chalk it up to Yves Klein exhibitions in the early 2000s or wild auction prices, but everyone wants one—and designers find that the tables work in every decor.
“It is the ultimate abstract art piece, and completely functional,” says photographer Inez van Lamsweerde, who bought one in 2007. But before you order, consider this: “Two men showed up in hazmat suits and built a tent around the living room in order to sift the blue pigment,” Van Lamsweerde says.
See also: 8 Coffee Table Ideas That Aren’t Tables At All
