William Klein

In a bold innovation blending painting and photography, Klein created his Painted Contacts series. The concept originated while reviewing photographers’ contact sheets for a film project. In reference to the traditional practice of marking selected images on contact sheets with brightly coloured grease pencils, Klein transformed this process into large-scale artworks. These mural-sized pieces frame and reframe iconic images from his fashion and street photography, infusing them with bold, dynamic colours and new meaning. “When I started painting the Contacts, it was all brush strokes and jubilation. The jubilation of painting echoed the celebration of taking the photo. For me, photographing was always a physical celebration—a supercharge.” Klein’s painted contact sheets add a new layer to his already vibrant, gritty photographic legacy, cementing his status as a pioneering artist who constantly pushed the boundaries of visual expression.