Yves Klein (1928-1962) creates a "live painting" in 1960, with a paint-covered nude model.

Peter Schjeldahl, art critic of The New Yorker, reviews the Yves Klein show now on view at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. Go here for a narrated slide show of some of Klein's projects, realized and proposed.

Blake Gopnik, reviewing in the Washington Post, raved that the exhibition "is as fine a show as anyone has seen, anywhere, ever," and he credited former Walker curator Philippe Vergne (along with Kerry Brougher
of the Hirshhorn) for an intelligent installation of Klein's work.

The Klein show opens at Walker Art Center in Minneapolis Oct. 23 and runs through Feb. 13, 2011. It's a big show, with about 200 objects, the first Klein retrospective in the United States in 30 years.

Below, a delightfully arch-and-cheesy vintage video of Klein conducting a small orchestra and a bunch of naked models covered in blue paint.