For the first time in 60 years, rare and unseen works by the internationally acclaimed artist William Klein will be presented by HackelBury Fine Art in London from 21 September. A legendary figure in both photography and film with a career spanning over half a century, it has long been recognised that William Klein began his artistic career as a painter, however his paintings have scarcely been seen or published since they were first exhibited in the early 1950s.

William Klein: Paintings Etc will unveil an exceptional group of Klein’s early paintings and experiments in photography. Giving a new perspective on his entire career, they reveal an incredibly accomplished young artist. The foundations of his unique visual language are clearly seen as his trajectory is traced through painting, architecture, photography, books and film.

Together with original paintings from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s will be large-scale abstract silver gelatin works, and the first in a series of monumental painted Mural Projects, all conceived between 1950 and 1953, and only now realised at full scale. These will be shown alongside early black and white images of New York, and unique Painted Contacts.

HackelBury Fine Art’s exhibition and accompanying publication are co-produced with Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York. They coincide with a major exhibition at Tate Modern opening in October, and a further publication ABC – a celebration of William Klein’s long and exemplary career to date. William Klein: Paintings Etc will transfer to the Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York from 1 March to 12 April 2013.

William Klein, Paintings Etc, 21 September until 20 December, HackelBury Fine Art, 4 Launceston Place, London W8 5RL. www.hackelbury.co.uk

Credits:

1. Fashion With Light Drawings-Dorothy Blowing Light Smoke Rings, 1962, © William Klein/Courtesy HackelBury Fine Art, London.
2. Barn on Walcheren Island, 1952, © William Klein/Courtesy HackelBury Fine Art, London.
3. William Klein, Mural Project No.1, 1952-54, © William Klein/Courtesy HackelBury Fine Art, London.
4. William Klein, Vertical Diamonds, 1953, © William Klein/Courtesy HackelBury Fine Art, London.