1955
In late 1954, Klein left Spain for Paris.
In the spring of 1955, he proposed an orange monochrome, entitled Expression de l’univers de la couleur mine orange (Expression of the Universe Color Minium Orange) at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, reserved for abstract artists. The rectangular wooden panel was uniformly covered with matte orange paint, and was signed with the monogram YK, dated May 1955.
The monochrome was turned down by the jury, whose members explained the reasons behind their decision to Marie Raymond:
You know, it’s just really not sufficient, if Yves would accept to add at least a little line, or a dot, or even simply a spot of another color, then we could show it, but a single color, no, no, really, that’s not enough, it’s impossible!
(Yves Klein, L’Aventure monochrome, part one, op. cit.)
September: Yves Klein opened a judo school at 104 boulevard de Clichy, in Paris. He hung several monochromes in the space.