FERNANDEZ ARMAN,
"Le Plein / Full up". Multiple of sardine can filled with trash and exhibition invitation. Published in 1960 by Arman and Galerie Iris Clert, Paris. It was created as an invitation to the exhibition “Le Plein” on the 25th of October, 1960 at the Iris Clert Gallery, Paris. Edition 1500. 10.5 x 6.1 x 3 cm.
Kulumaa. Tummumista.
Galerie Iris Clert, Paris.
Durand-Ruel. 1991. Arman – Catalogue Raisonné II, 1960-1962. Turin: Editions de La Différence.
p. 48-49.
J-M. Bouhours, Centre Pompidou, “Arman”, Editions du Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2010, illustrated page 296 (another example).
Another example from this edition is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa NY).
The Galerie Iris Clert held two pioneering exhibitions. The first was Klein's, le Vide which opened on April 28, 1958. For this occasion Klein completely emptied the gallery except for a single bare display case, painted it a single shade of glossy white, and called it art.
Klein said: “My paintings are now invisible and I would like to show them in a clear and positive manner, in my next Parisian exhibition at Iris Clert’s”
In October 1960, Arman a close friend of Klein’s since childhood, exhibited in the Iris Clert Gallery. Arman’s exhibition was called Le Plein (The Full-Up). Le Plein was a direct contradiction of Klein’s Void: Arman filled the small gallery to the brim with. So much garbage, in fact, that the exhibition could only be viewed from the storefront window. Invitations to the exhibition were sent in small sardine cans, with the words "Arman – Le Plein – Iris Clert" printed simply on the pull-away top. Klein himself was supportive of his friend’s reversal, declaring "After my own emptiness comes Arman’s fullness. The universal memory of art was lacking his conclusive mummification of quantification."