Lot Essay
Born in 1938 in Rerik, East Germany, Rotraut Uecker, who is formally known as Rotraut is also known as Yves Klein's widow and the sister of Günther Uecker. An artist in her own right, Rotraut has come to be celebrated internationally for her paintings and sculptures which have been shown in both Europe and America.
Following the Second World War and Hitler's defeat, Rotraut's family found themselves living in communist East Germany while her brother, fellow artist, Günther fled to the West where she would join him in 1955. Forbidden to see her parents, Rotraut recalled that her brother Günther became her "first art teacher, my father and my mother." (Rotraut) It was Günther who in 1957 arranged for Rotraut to become the au pair for the French artist Arman in Nice. During her stay in Arman's home, Rotraut would come to meet Yves Klein, whose work she had admired greatly since first seeing it in Dusseldorf. Though she had fallen in love with his work, Rotraut did not imagine that during a visit to Arman's home, she would fall in love with the artist. They were married in January of 1962. "Yves was very supportive of my work," she has recalled. A muse to Klein, Rotraut was honored when he asked her to be a part of his anthropometries series but would only model at home and never in public. Sadly their marriage was cut short when Yves died a few months later.
For the past decade Rotraut has concentrated primarily on sculpture - large, colourful, plastic pieces brimming with optimism. Yet, she says, for years after Klein's death she found it impossible to paint in colour, particularly blue. "Then, other artists asked if they could use Klein Blue. And I thought, this is silly. I love blue. I used to mix the blue for Yves." From the Baltic to the Pacific it has been a long journey for Rotraut but the horizons are unlimited.
Following the Second World War and Hitler's defeat, Rotraut's family found themselves living in communist East Germany while her brother, fellow artist, Günther fled to the West where she would join him in 1955. Forbidden to see her parents, Rotraut recalled that her brother Günther became her "first art teacher, my father and my mother." (Rotraut) It was Günther who in 1957 arranged for Rotraut to become the au pair for the French artist Arman in Nice. During her stay in Arman's home, Rotraut would come to meet Yves Klein, whose work she had admired greatly since first seeing it in Dusseldorf. Though she had fallen in love with his work, Rotraut did not imagine that during a visit to Arman's home, she would fall in love with the artist. They were married in January of 1962. "Yves was very supportive of my work," she has recalled. A muse to Klein, Rotraut was honored when he asked her to be a part of his anthropometries series but would only model at home and never in public. Sadly their marriage was cut short when Yves died a few months later.
For the past decade Rotraut has concentrated primarily on sculpture - large, colourful, plastic pieces brimming with optimism. Yet, she says, for years after Klein's death she found it impossible to paint in colour, particularly blue. "Then, other artists asked if they could use Klein Blue. And I thought, this is silly. I love blue. I used to mix the blue for Yves." From the Baltic to the Pacific it has been a long journey for Rotraut but the horizons are unlimited.