Ben Vautier More Art

French, 1935-2024

Benjamin Vautier was born in 1935, in Naples, Italy, to a French family. He was the great-grandson of the Swiss painter Marc Louis Benjamin Vautier (1829–98). He 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 joined George Maciunas in the Fluxus artistic movement, in October 1962. He was also active in Mail-Art and was mostly known for his text-based paintings or écritures, which began in 1953, with his work Il faut manger. Il faut dormir. 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 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).

Find Benjamin Vautier art on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Gallery 55 TLV)

Artist: Ben Vautier

Je signe rien - Vautier, Ben - aluminum / 3D text collage - hand-signed archive

By Ben Vautier

Located in Winterswijk, NL

This impressive 3D text collage features white acrylic on a brushed aluminum composite panel, created in 2016. The piece is hand-signed by the artist with a felt-tip pen, dated, and ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Metal

Ben Vautier
Je signe rien - Vautier, Ben - aluminum / 3D text collage - hand-signed archive, 2016

$4,812

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Organic Material, Adhesive, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper, T...

Peter Kramer
"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm, 2021 - 2022

$505

H 19.69 in W 13 in D 0.08 in

"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm

Located in Carballo, ES

This series of works by the Danish artist Peter Kramer (Roskilde, 1959) with numerous exhibitions between Spain and Denmark are entitled "365 urns", in which the artist works with ti...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Organic Material, Adhesive, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper, T...

Peter Kramer
"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm, 2021 - 2022

$506

H 19.69 in W 13 in D 0.08 in

“Mardi Gras Figure R”

By Ran Su Studio

Located in Southampton, NY

Dramatic mixed media composition of fabric, inlaid wood veneers, paint and gold leaf laid down on masonite. Circa 1950. Condition is very good. Ran Su Studio l...

Category

1950s Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Ran Su Studio
“Mardi Gras Figure R”, Circa 1950

$700 Sale Price

20% Off

H 26 in W 18 in D 0.75 in

“Mardi Gras Figure L”

By Ran Su Studio

Located in Southampton, NY

Dramatic mixed media composition of fabric, inlaid wood veneers, paint and gold leaf laid down on masonite. Circa 1950. Condition is very good. Ran Su Studio l...

Category

1950s Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Ran Su Studio
“Mardi Gras Figure L”, Circa 1950

$700 Sale Price

20% Off

H 26 in W 18 in D 0.75 in

Jack Reilly, Adam and Eve in Tuscany, 2017

Located in Santa Monica, CA

Oil, acrylic polymers, grout, gold leaf, on shaped canvas.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Silver, Gold Leaf

Jack Reilly
Jack Reilly, Adam and Eve in Tuscany, 2017, 2018

$7,500

H 25 in W 49 in D 1.75 in

"Monument to Monoliths"

Located in Astoria, NY

Elfi Schuselka (Austrian, b. 1940), "Monument to Monoliths", Mixed Media on Paper, signed lower right, unframed. 20.5" H x 28.25" W. Provenance: From the collection of the artist. No...

Category

Late 20th Century Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Acrylic, Pencil, Graphite

Elfi Schuselka
"Monument to Monoliths", late

$1,300

H 20.5 in W 28.25 in

"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm

Located in Carballo, ES

This series of works by the Danish artist Peter Kramer (Roskilde, 1959) with numerous exhibitions between Spain and Denmark are entitled "365 urns", in which the artist works with ti...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Organic Material, Adhesive, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper, T...

Peter Kramer
"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm, 2021 - 2022

$506

H 19.69 in W 13 in D 0.08 in

"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm

Located in Carballo, ES

This series of works by the Danish artist Peter Kramer (Roskilde, 1959) with numerous exhibitions between Spain and Denmark are entitled "365 urns", in which the artist works with ti...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Organic Material, Adhesive, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper, T...

Peter Kramer
"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm, 2021 - 2022

$506

H 19.69 in W 13 in D 0.08 in

"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm

Located in Carballo, ES

This series of works by the Danish artist Peter Kramer (Roskilde, 1959) with numerous exhibitions between Spain and Denmark are entitled "365 urns", in which the artist works with ti...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Organic Material, Adhesive, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper, T...

Peter Kramer
"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm, 2021 - 2022

$506

H 19.69 in W 13 in D 0.08 in

"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm

Located in Carballo, ES

This series of works by the Danish artist Peter Kramer (Roskilde, 1959) with numerous exhibitions between Spain and Denmark are entitled "365 urns", in which the artist works with ti...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Organic Material, Adhesive, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper, T...

Peter Kramer
"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm, 2021 - 2022

$506

H 19.69 in W 13 in D 0.08 in

"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm

Located in Carballo, ES

This series of works by the Danish artist Peter Kramer (Roskilde, 1959) with numerous exhibitions between Spain and Denmark are entitled "365 urns", in which the artist works with ti...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Organic Material, Adhesive, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper, T...

Peter Kramer
"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm, 2021 - 2022

$506

H 19.69 in W 13 in D 0.08 in

"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm

Located in Carballo, ES

This series of works by the Danish artist Peter Kramer (Roskilde, 1959) with numerous exhibitions between Spain and Denmark are entitled "365 urns", in which the artist works with ti...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Ben Vautier More Art

Materials

Organic Material, Adhesive, Ink, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Handmade Paper, T...

Peter Kramer
"365 Vessels", Mixed technique on tissue white paper, Minimalist, 50 x 33 cm, 2021 - 2022

$506

H 19.69 in W 13 in D 0.08 in