‘Humankind began with fire,’ scientists Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross wrote in an earlier issue of See All This. ‘Life as we know it came about thanks to lightning. Arcs of electricity six times hotter than the surface of the sun ignited trees and bushes on the African savannah. Early Homo erectus and Homo sapiens captured its magic and took it with them, from place to place... Fire, and with it creative expression, sparked the birth of community.’
Since the beginning of time, fire has held this profound duality — a force both of destruction and creation. It illuminates and energises, yet also consumes and destroys — a reality brought into sharp focus in the past few weeks. The 6th-century BC Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus recognised fire as more than just a primal element; he saw it as the very essence of existence, the source from which all other elements emerged, and a symbol of life’s perpetual transformation.
In the 1960s, Yves Klein explored this same duality through his groundbreaking fire experiments. In this Art Room, we invite you to discover more about his pioneering Peinture de feu series and offer a special Limited Edition: Peinture de feu sans titre (F124).
thanks to Editions Dilecta, Paris