(KLEIN, Yves).

Theaterneubauten der Stadt Gelsenkirchen [New Theater Buildings in the City of Gelsenkirchen].

Black & white illus. throughout. [14] pp. (incl. inside of wrappers). Square 4to, orig. ultramarine blue wrappers (head of spine a trifle worn), staple-bound. Düsseldorf: Zentraldruckerei Wust & Co, [ca. 1960].

A rare book that documents the construction of Gelsenkirchen’s famous opera theater building, now known as the Musiktheater im Revier; it was shaped by the partnership of artists, most notably Yves Klein (1928-62) and Jean Tinguely (1925-91), and the architect Werner Ruhnau (1922-2015). The front and back wrappers are covered with Klein’s iconic International Klein Blue.

This publication includes architectural schematics of the Grosse Haus and Kleine Haus theaters, photographs of Ruhnau guiding municipal officials on a tour, Ruhnau, Tinguely, sculptor Robert Adams, and Paul Dierkes in front of a model of the theater, and construction scenes, including images of Klein and Adams in situ supervising their designs. The photographs were taken by German advertising executive and artist Charles Wilp (1932-2005), who also designed this book. To our knowledge they have not been published elsewhere.

Two pages of text, the first unattributed, the other by Ruhnau, outline the inspirations for the project and close involvement of artists in the design. Klein originally planned to use his IKB paint for a large-scale painting in the foyer and other parts of the theater. For these enormous monochromes, however, IKB was not suitable, and Klein had to reconstitute the formula to create Gelsenkirchen Blue. The building opened to the public in December 1959.

In near fine condition.

|| The Musiktheater im Revier website’s “Architektur” page (accessed 10 September 2026).

Frédéric Migayrou, “The Gelsenkirchen opera house,” on the Archives Yves Klein website (accessed 10 September 2026).

Price: $750.00

Item ID: 11586