French artist Ben Vautier is best known for his text-based artworks, installations, and performances. The artist understood early on that art should shock, amuse and entertain the viewers. He is one of the main founders of the now renowned Fluxus Group. In his work, he handwrites on different objects and various solid backgrounds comments about current events. Humor and wit are central elements of his art. Today his works are part of numerous private and public collections, including the Centre George Pompidou in Paris, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
Benjamin Vautier was born in 1935 in Naples, Italy, to French parents. He is a descendant of the famous Swiss painter Marc Louis Benjamin Vautier. When he was five, he traveled and lived with his mother in Egypt, Turkey, and Switzerland before settling in Nice in 1949. As a teenager, he already had a full-time job as a handyman in a bookstore. It was here, surrounded by so many art books, where he began developing his personal taste and philosophy about art. One of the first things he realized was that it should be something never before seen and shocking for it to be successful.
Vautier's life changed when he decided to open a stationery store, Magazin (Laboratoire 32), which he ran from 1958 to 1973, and sell records. It became the meeting place for young people and artists that later became members of the School of Nice - Martial Raysse, César, and Arman, to name a few. In 1955 long before Andy Warhol, he created a series of drawings that explored the shape of the banana. Vautier met Yves Klein, who inspired him to get interested in Nouveau Réalisme. However, by the 1960s, he turned to the Fluxus movement. The artist had his first solo show entitled Rien et tout at Laboratoire 32. His work holds thought-provoking messages, such as Art is Superfluous (1972), No comment (1988), and Why look? (1981). Throughout his career, Vautier has advocated for the rights of minorities in France. In 1990 the artist showcased his work at the Venice Biennale, and in 1972 he took part in Documenta 5, a major international group show.
In 2016 a large retrospective of his oeuvre was organized by the Musée Maillol, entitled Tout est art?. Over the years, Vautier has had numerous solo and group shows. In 2023 he participated in Schema 50: Una galleria fra le neo-avanguardie (1972–1994) at Centro Pecci in Italy, Robert Filliou, Là où tout a commencé, cela commence à nouveau at Immanence Espace d'Art Contemporain in Paris and Incarnations: Le corps dans la collection at Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art in Lyon. In 2023 he had a solo exhibition Death Isn't Real at Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City.
Ben Vautier lives and works in Nice, France.
Featured image: Ben Vautier, Copyright of the artist
Have a question or a technical issue? Want to learn more about our services to art dealers? Let us know and you'll hear from us within the next 24 hours.