Yves Klein and Arman Face Off in Lugano Exhibition

The Olgiati Collection in Lugano presents a comparative exhibition of Yves Klein (1928–1962) and Arman (1928–2005), two artists born in Nice in the same year who once divided the world between them: Klein took the sky, Arman the earth. Curated by Bruno Corà with supervision by Danna Olgiati and set design by Mario Botta, the show features sixty works and functions as a dual retrospective. It highlights Klein's Monochromes, Anthropometries, Fire Paintings, and Sponges alongside Arman's Cachets, Allures, Accumulations, Poubelles, and Colères. A rare piece, Excavatrice de l'espace, created in collaboration with Jean Tinguely, is also on view. The exhibition revisits Arman's radicality, often obscured by market treatment, and culminates in a final room where fire—an iconoclastic yet purifying element—unites the two poetics. The show follows a 2023 exhibition at the same space that paired Balla and Dorazio.