Ben Vautier

Agnes Börjesson is recorded as having studied under Ben Vautier. The recorded working language is French. The field of work recorded is Lettrism, painting and performance art. Places of work recorded in the authority are Nice. Works named in the authority record are Il faut se méfier des mots. Work by Ben Vautier is recorded in the collections of Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Victoria, National Gallery of Canada and Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Distinctions recorded are Officer of Arts and Letters.

• Name — Ben Vautier • Birth Name — Benjamin Vautier • Born — 18 July 1935 • Birthplace — Naples, Italy • Died — 5 June 2024 • Place of death — Nice, France • Other Names — Ben • Known for — * Lettrism • performance art • Movement — * Fluxus • Zero • Spouse — Annie Vautier (1964-2024)

Benjamin Vautier was born on 18 July 1935 in Naples, Italy, to a French family. He was the great-grandson of the Swiss painter Benjamin Vautier (1829–1898).

Vautier discovered Yves Klein and the Nouveau Réalisme in the 1950s, but he quickly became interested in the French dada artist Marcel Duchamp and the music of John Cage. In 1959, Vautier founded the journal Ben Dieu. In 1960, he had his first one-man show, Rien et tout in Laboratoire 32. Vautier ran a record shop called Magazin between 1958 and 1973. Vautier joined George Maciunas in the Fluxus artistic movement, in October 1962. Vautier was also active in Mail-Art and was mostly known for his text-based paintings or écritures, begun in 1953, with his work Il faut manger. Il faut dormir ("One must eat. One must sleep."). Another example of the latter is L'art est inutile. Rentrez chez vous ("Art is Useless, Go Home"). A notable work made for Harald Szeemann's Documenta 5 exhibition in 1972 shouts, KUNST IST ÜBERFLÜSSIG (English: Art is Superfluous), and was installed across the top of the Fridericianum museum in Kassel, Germany. Vautier long defended the rights of minorities in all countries, and he was influenced by the theories of François Fontan about ethnism. For example, he defended the Occitan language (southern France). In 1981, he coined the name of the French art movement of the 1980s Figuration Libre (Free Figuration). In 2010 was published "INTROSPECTION TRUTH ART & SEX", the Personal Structures Art Projects Number #07 His work is included in some of the most important collections in the world, including MoMA in New York and Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid. The Centre Pompidou in Paris has Ben Vautier's Magasin ("Shop"), an enormous piece, on permanent display. In 2022, the MUAC in Mexico City organised one of the most ambitious exhibitions about Vautier, curated by Ferran Barenblit. Between 2022 and 2024, Vautier met on several occasions with the German young artist Raimo D. Nagel, serving in an informal capacity as his mentor.

Vautier died of suicide by firearm on 5 June 2024, at the age of 88, after his wife Annie Vautier had died from a stroke the previous evening.

• Illustration — Vautier (2007) • Illustration — Vautier (2019) by Olivier Meyer • Illustration — Everything Is Art (1961)

Ben Vautier was recorded at birth as Benjamin Paolo Vautier. The authorities additionally record the heading Benjamin Paolo Vautier. His recorded language was French. He married Annie Vautier. One child is recorded: Eva Cunegonde Vautier. Other recorded relations include Benjamin Vautier.

Ben Vautier is recorded as poet, postage stamp designer, photographer, illustrator and photojournalist.