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![\"BEN](\"https:\/\/2023.eva-vautier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/ben-ev.jpg\")
<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n <\/span><\/p>\nBen, pseudonym of Benjamin Vautier, born on July 18, 1935 in Naples in Italy, is a French artist of Swiss origin.<\/p>\n
He became known to the public at the end of the 1960s, notably through his “writings” in various media and forms. Part of the post-modern artistic avant-garde, Ben is one of the main founders of the Fluxus group and close to Lettrism. He is an artist known for his performances, installations and writings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\nIn this way, universes as distant from the artistic field as ethnism, ego or truth have entered his work. Ben enjoys an incredible popularity thanks to his “writings” which combine impertinence and accuracy of purpose.
\nBen, whose real name is Benjamin Vautier, is a French artist of Swiss origin, born on July 18, 1935, in Naples (Italy), of an Irish and Occitan mother, and a French-speaking Swiss father. He is the grandson of Marc Louis Benjamin Vautier, a nineteenth-century Swiss painter. He lived his first five years in Naples. After the declaration of the Second World War in 1939, Ben and his mother travelled extensively: Switzerland, Turkey, Egypt, Italy… to finally settle in Nice in 1949. He studied at the Imperial Park School and at the Stanislas College boarding school. His mother finds him a job at the bookstore Le Nain bleu as an errand boy, and then buys him a stationery store. At the end of the 1950s, he sold it to open a small store, transforming its facade by accumulating a lot of objects and in which he sold second-hand records.
\nHis store quickly became a place for meetings and exhibitions where the main members of what would become the \u00c9cole de Nice met: C\u00e9sar, Arman, Martial Raysse, etc. Close to Yves Klein and seduced by the New Realism, he is convinced that “art must be new and bring a shock”. In 1955, he discovered the shape of the banana and made a series of drawings. This series marks the beginning of his graphic research. In 1959, he begins his “living sculptures”: he signs people in the street, his friends, and even his family. In 1965, he signed his own daughter, Eva Cun\u00e9gonde, then three months old. In the early 1960s, several artists attempted to appropriate the world as a work of art. Ben will sign anything he finds: “holes, mystery boxes, kicks, God, chickens, etc.”, linking art and life, explaining that everything is art and everything is possible in art. He joined the Fluxus movement in October 1962, following a meeting with George Maciunas in London. Between 1960 and 1963, he developed the notion of appropriation, of everything being art and everything possible in art. He then began his “Tas” series, piling up dirt and garbage on lots and signing them. In 1965, in his store, he created a three by three meter gallery in the mezzanine: “Ben doubts everything”. He exhibited Martial Raysse, Albert Chubac, Daniel Biga, Marcel Alocco, Bernar Venet, Serge Maccaferri, Serge III, Sarkis, Robert Filliou, Christian Boltanski, etc. In 1972, at the request of Harald Szeemann, he participated in Documenta V, where he met Robert Filliou, Marcel Broodthaers, Giuseppe Chiari and Joseph Beuys, among others. In 1977, the collective exhibition “A propos de Nice” inaugurating the Centre Georges Pompidou was a kind of Parisian recognition of the research carried out and matured outside the capital, by the School of Nice. In the preface to the catalog, Pontus Hulten wrote: “Contemporary art would not have had the same history without the activities and encounters that took place in the Nice region. He entrusts the preparation of the event to Ben. At the beginning of the 1980s, on his return from a year spent in Berlin at the DAAD, thanks to a grant, he met young artists: Salom\u00e9, Luciano Castelli, Helmut Middendorf and the members of the German Violent Painting. On his return to Nice, he organized with Marc Sanchez an exhibition-exchange between what he called the French Figuration Libre and young German painters. Robert Combas and Herv\u00e9 Di Rosa are exhibited in his house in Saint Pancrace, and Fran\u00e7ois Boisrond and R\u00e9mi Blanchard, among others, are exhibited at La galerie de la Marine in Nice. Very involved in the contemporary scene, he has always supported young artists and gives his point of view on all current events, whether cultural, political, anthropological or artistic, in his regular and prolix newsletters. He lives and works since 1975 on the heights of Saint-Pancrace, a hill in Nice. Ben’s work can be found in some of the world’s most important private and public collections, including MoMA in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig in Vienna, the MUHKA in Antwerp, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Museum of Solothurn, the Mus\u00e9e National d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Mus\u00e9e d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain in Nice, the M.A.C. in Marseille, and the M.A.C. in Lyon. Married to Annie Baricalla since 1964, he has two children, Eva Cun\u00e9gonde and Fran\u00e7ois Malabar.<\/p>\n
Inscribing himself in the post-Duchamp context, and influenced by John Cage, George Maciunas, Dada and Isidore Isou, asking the question “What to do after Duchamp?”, Ben chooses the whole world as his workshop. From 1963 to 1967, Ben wrote ten conceptual films. The first one was a declaration-posters stuck on the walls of Nice and Cannes at the time of the Cannes Film Festival.<\/p>\n
Writing: His first word painting seems to be “Il faut manger. You have to sleep” from 1953, a simple affirmation of life. However, this simplicity conveys a strong concept: Ben produces an art of the idea, well before the beginning of conceptual art as defined in most specialized books. At the time, Ben was looking for new artistic forms to talk about art and the art world. He then developed through his writings numerous and varied themes (ego, doubt, death, sex, the new, money…). The sentences Ben writes can be truths, comments (on the world, current events), scenarios, invectives (to the public, to the art world), observations… Suddenly appearing in the viewer’s field of vision, they bring a smile to the face and often give food for thought.
\nThe signature: He starts to sign in 1958: paintings, people, photos. Ben then thought that if art is only about signature, then why not make a painting with just his own signature. Working with the concepts of self, ego and artist identity, Ben, “seems to be saying that since, to the public, art is synonymous with the artist’s signature, the more visible it is, the more the public will want that work. {…} At the same time, Ben speaks to the ego\/self and the importance of self-reference in art, the exploration of the self and the ego – both subjectively and as a subject.” His manifesto “Moi Ben je signe” in 1960 shows the radical nature of his approach.
\nGestures \/ Actions: Down to earth, Ben’s gestures are close to George Brecht’s “events”. They are also called “shares”. His first gestures date back to 1960, theorized in what he calls “appropriations”. At first poorly documented, they are then photographed and titled, on a support most often black, with a brief description. These gestures show small, a priori banal, daily, unspectacular actions that Ben puts forward, in a Fluxus spirit.
\nThe performances “Life never stops” is one of Ben’s phrases. Playing on the codes of happenings and performances developed in the United States in the 1950s (Black Mountain College, Allan Kaprow), Ben mixes life and art from the 1960s to produce performances called “Vomir”, “Hurler”, or “Dire la v\u00e9rit\u00e9”, which he realizes near his store in rue Tonduti de l’Escar\u00e8ne or in the streets of Nice, warning the public or not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In 2010 Ben creates in Nice, in the center of the Liberation district, the “Espace \u00e0 d\u00e9battre<\/em> “. A place that has come to life through many events.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Three years later Ben offered this place to his daughter Eva who set up the Eva Vautier Gallery<\/em>. It produces numerous exhibitions, performances, debates, bringing together citizens from all walks of life, contributing to the defense of these artists and contemporary art and creating a real dynamic contributing to give a new breath to the local artistic life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Biography” tab_id=”1678892505768-6257cba3-b5a1″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
\nBen Vautier<\/strong><\/p>\nBorn in 1935, in Naples
\nLives and works in Nice<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS (selection)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
1960<\/strong><\/p>\nBen exposes Nothing and Everything Laboratory 32 Nice
\nBen exposes Nothing and Everything Laboratory 32 Nice<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1966<\/strong><\/p>\nLa C\u00e9dille qui Sourit, Villefranche Retrospective exhibition<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1970<\/strong><\/p>\nGalerie de La Salle, Vence Some ideas and gestures of Ben
\nDaniel Templon Gallery Paris, All and Nothing
\nYelow Gallery, Brussels<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1971<\/strong><\/p>\n“Ecritures de 58 \u00e0 66 ” Galerie Daniel Templon Paris Personal exhibition 1972<\/strong> ” Gestes ” Galerie Daniel Templon Paris\/Milan<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
1972<\/strong><\/p>\nLia Rumma Gallery, Naples
\nI.C.C. Antwerp, (Actions and gestures)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1973<\/strong><\/p>\n“La d\u00e9construction ” Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris
\nArt = Ben Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1974<\/strong><\/p>\nNeue gallery, Aachen
\nYelow Now Gallery, Liege<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1975<\/strong><\/p>\nGallery Bruno Bischofberger, Zurich
\nGibson Gallery, New York
\n“Trying to be natural” Incontri Internazionali d’Arte, Roma
\nBaudoin Lebon Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1976<\/strong><\/p>\nKunstwerein, Bremen
\nLa Salle Gallery, Saint Paul<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1977<\/strong><\/p>\nArt is the others, Baudoin Lebon Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1979<\/strong><\/p>\nDAAD, Berlin<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1980<\/strong><\/p>\nDaniel Templon Gallery, Paris
\nMarika Malacorda Gallery, Geneva
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art, Montreal<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1981<\/strong><\/p>\nCatherine Issert Gallery, Saint Paul<\/p>\n
Museum of Art and Industry, Saint Etienne (Ben free and crazy)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1982<\/strong><\/p>\nCastelli Graphics Gallery, New York
\nUnimedia Gallery, Genoa (The Falklands)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1983<\/strong><\/p>\nBeaubourg Gallery, Paris (The portraits)
\n“the writings ” Daniel Templon Gallery Paris
\nLara Vincy Gallery, Paris (boxes and ideas)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1985<\/strong><\/p>\nTout Ben ‘ G.A.C. at the Marine Nice
\nStadt Gallery, Erlangen<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1986<\/strong><\/p>\nSalla Parpalo, Valencia
\nPierre Huber Gallery, Geneva (Banco)
\nCatherine Issert Gallery, Saint Paul de Vence
\nShuppenhauer Gallery, Essen (Germany) (Proust)
\nUnimedia Gallery, Genoa (Cultural Circus)
\nFRAC Pas de Calais
\nEmily Harvey Gallery, New York<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1987<\/strong><\/p>\nCamomille Gallery, Brussels (Les Miroirs)
\nFRAC Calais exhibition of acquisitions
\nMuseum of Valence, (exhibition conference debate) 1987 Museum of C\u00e9ret, C\u00e9ret
\nLab\u00e8ge Innopole, Toulouse Ben from A to Z
\nM.U.K.H.A. Antwerp<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1988<\/strong><\/p>\nDaniel Templon Gallery, Paris
\nCatherine Issert Gallery (4 different exhibitions in I month)
\nC.C.C. Tours (with edition Jungle de l’Art)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1991<\/strong><\/p>\n“A story of ass ” Daniel Templon Gallery Paris
\nFrac Orl\u00e9ans I doubt therefore I am (sculpture for Descartes)
\nGalerie Malacorda, Geneva ” No art without detail “.
\nMudima Foundation, Milan
\n“7 years of happiness “Galerie Camomille, Brussels
\nEmily Harvey Gallery, New York
\nCenter Pompidou, Ben’s Questions Forum
\n“I know I always do too much” Marianne and Pierre Nahon Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1992<\/strong><\/p>\n“I have more room at home” Le Chanjour Gallery, Nice
\n“Basta!” Gallery La Marge, Ajaccio
\nBugno and Samuelli Gallery Venice, L’arte e sempre altrove ”
\nGallery of Contemporary Art, Saint Ravy Demangel, Montpellier
\n“It is necessary to be wary of the words ” Gallery Catherine Issert, Saint Paul
\n“I dont want to do art I want… “Galerie Shupenhauer, Cologne, Solo exhibition
\nArt and Joking Center, Montb\u00e9liard
\n“Switzerland does not exist” Rosalp Gallery, Verbier Switzerland<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1993<\/strong><\/p>\n“I am alive I am in Nice” M.A.M.A.C., Nice
\n“I don’t know how to paint” Gallery Guy Pieters, Knokke Zoute<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1994<\/strong><\/p>\n“A bas la culture” Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1995<\/strong><\/p>\n“Ben, For or Against” Retrospective M.A.C., Marseille<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1996<\/strong><\/p>\nMuseum of Solothurn, Switzerland<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1999<\/strong><\/p>\n“Life and death” Charlotte Moser Gallery, Geneva<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2000<\/strong><\/p>\nGallery 1900-2000 show Fiac, Paris
\n“La pagaille gagne du terrain ” Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris Exhibition<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2001<\/strong><\/p>\n“I am looking for the truth” M.A.M.A.C., Nice
\n“Ist das nicht wichtig” Museum Schwerin, Germany<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2002<\/strong><\/p>\n“I wish I were a cactus” Gallery C. Gualco, Genoa
\nNational Museum of contemporary art, Korea Seoul Personal exhibition 2002<\/strong> ” La chambre du philosophe ” Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris
\n“Everything is music” Kahn Gallery, Strasbourg<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
2003<\/strong><\/p>\n“Mon psy et moi ” Galerie Charlotte Moser, Gen\u00e8ve Personal exhibition b ” Je suis en guerre ” Galerie Rive Gauche, strouk Paris
\nBen biz’art bazart, Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris
\n“Difficult to be another” Plastic Arts Center, Saint Fons<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2004<\/strong><\/p>\n“The world is changing” Arsenal, Metz
\n“The hidden part of the Iceberg” Gallery Catherine Issert, Saint Paul<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2005<\/strong><\/p>\n“Art is dead long live art” Studio Marco Fioretti, Bergamo
\n“Bient\u00f4t on ne pourra plus arr\u00eater la machine ” Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris 2005<\/strong> Mus\u00e9e Chagall, Nice
\n“I am a sex maniac” Storme Gallery, Lille<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
2006<\/strong> “Io dubito sempre” Gallery Soave, Alessandria
\n“The limits of photography” Andr\u00e9 Villers Museum, Mougins
\n“I’m drowning” Kahn Gallery, Ile de R\u00e9
\n“I’m no good at ceramics” Museum of pottery, Vallauris
\n“The Others” Marlborough Gallery, Monaco<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
2007<\/strong><\/p>\n“Tutto e competizione” JZ art trading, Milan
\n“I can’t stop myself” Gallery Guy Pieters, Knokke
\n“Tutto \u00e8 ego” Studio d’Arte Fioretti, Bergamo<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2008<\/strong><\/p>\n“Gegen kunst” Gallery Schuppenhauer, koln
\n“Quien es Ben?” Retrospective Musee Vostel, Malpartida<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2009<\/strong><\/p>\n“They all committed suicide” Templon Gallery Paris
\n“La Baule privilege” Marcel Billy Gallery, La Baule<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2010<\/strong><\/p>\nRetrospective ” Strip Tease int\u00e9gral ” Mus\u00e9e d’Art Contemporain, Lyon
\n“Contemporary art makes me laugh ” Lara Vincy Gallery, Paris
\n“Takes art as it comes” Gallery Shuppenhauer, Cologne
\n“I still have something to say ” Galerie Les Tournesols, Saint Etienne 2010<\/strong> ” Paniquez pas .. ” Nathalie Obadia Gallery, Brussels
\n“100% EN OCCITAN” Gallery Sollertis, Toulouse<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
2011<\/strong><\/p>\n“No rose without thorns ” Galerie Rive Gauche, Paris Marcel Strouk
\n“And after that?” Museum of Louviers, Louviers
\n“Ben Vautier ” ART BORES ME Gallery Vicky David, New York<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2012<\/strong><\/p>\n“Being ” Ch\u00e2teau de Malbrouck, Manderen in Moselle
\n“The freedom of …. “Catherine Issert Gallery, Saint Paul
\n“I’m not crazy ” Lara Vincy Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
2013<\/strong><\/p>\n“The black hole of the ego ” M\u00e9diath\u00e8que Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand, Argentan ( onfrey )i 2013<\/strong> ” Another Ben that … ” Helenbeck Gallery, Nice<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
2014<\/strong><\/p>\n“The theory of the ego ” Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris
\n“Life is a game ” Galerie Laurent Strouk, Paris<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS (selection)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n1962<\/strong><\/div>\nMisfits Fair, Gallery One London<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1966<\/strong><\/div>\nGallery A, Nice, The superior red wine liter<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1971<\/strong><\/div>\nDaniel Templon Gallery, Paris Ecritures<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1972<\/strong><\/div>\nMuseum of Luzerne Ben, Boltanski, Le Gac, Fernie
\nGuggenheim Museum New York
\nDocumenta V, Kassel (Harald Szeemann)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1977<\/strong><\/div>\nAbout Nice, Centre Pompidou, Paris (organized by Ben)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1982<\/strong><\/div>\nStedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (The wardrobe)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1987<\/strong><\/div>\nDaan Gallery, Amsterdam<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1988<\/strong><\/div>\nLudwig Museum, Cologne<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1989<\/strong><\/div>\nFrac Provence Cote d’Azur, Maeght Foundation
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane
\nArt in France Centre Pompidou, Paris<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1990<\/strong><\/div>\nVenice Biennale, Fluxus section
\nBiennale of Sydney, Sydney
\nGallery Littmann, Basel<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1991<\/strong><\/div>\nStedelijk Museum, Amsterdam Peter Stuyvesant<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1992<\/strong><\/div>\nWorld Exposition Seville, Swiss Pavilion
\nManifesto at the George Pompidou Center, Paris<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1993<\/strong><\/div>\nIn the spirit of Fluxus, Walker Museum, Minneapolis<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1995<\/strong><\/div>\nBeyong switzerland art museum of Honk Hong<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1996<\/strong><\/div>\nMuseum of Modern Art of Pragues, Fluxus<\/div>\n<\/div>\n1997<\/strong><\/div>\n1977-1997 Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2000<\/strong><\/div>\nCenter Pompidou, re-opening<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2002<\/strong><\/div>\nShopping Art, Tate, Liverpool (Le Bazar biz’art)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2003<\/strong><\/div>\nMuseum of the Object, Blois
\nCabinet of Manipulations, Venice Zenobio Palace<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2004<\/strong><\/div>\n“sound and light” Centre Pompidou, Paris<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2005<\/strong><\/div>\n40th anniversary of Fluxus, Nurenberg<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2006<\/strong><\/div>\nLe Tas d’esprits, Paris Galerie Seine 51, Lara Vincy, Rive Gauche, Christine Phal<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2008<\/strong><\/div>\n “I like to laugh” Gualco Gallery Unimediamodern, Gene<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2009<\/strong><\/div>\n “Suddenly the Fluxus summer”, Passage de Retz, Paris<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2010<\/strong><\/div>\n “We’ll see” Fluxus in Moscow<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2011<\/strong><\/div>\n “The time of action” Villa Arson, Nice<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2011<\/strong><\/div>\nLife exhibitionIlles posters Moma New York<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2012<\/strong><\/div>\n“Ben signs Nice ” Performance Ring Villa Arson, Nice<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2013<\/strong><\/div>\nFondation du doute inauguration, Blois<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n
\n\n <\/p>\n
MUSEUMS AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Center national d’art et de culture Georges-Pompidou Paris (France)
\nMuseum of Modern Art New York USA
\nMuseum of Modern Art of the City of Paris (France)
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art of Lyon M.A.C. Lyon (France)
\nMuseum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Nice MAMAC (France)
\nMuseum of contemporary art of Marseille (France)
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art of Val-de-Marne (MAC\/VAL) Vitry-sur-Seine (France)
\nMuseum of modern art of C\u00e9ret (France)
\nMuseum of Art and Industry of Saint-Etienne (France)
\nPicasso Museum (Antibes) (France)
\nNational Customs Museum Bordeaux (France)
\nEuropean House of Photography Paris (France)
\nFondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain Paris (France)
\nMuseum of the Object. Permanent installation ” Le Mur des Mots ” Blois (France)
\nLa Fondation du Doute Blois (France)
\nStedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Netherlands)
\nStaatliches Museum, Schwerin (Germany)
\nMagritte Museum, Brussels (Belgium)
\nMuseum of Art and History of Geneva (Switzerland)
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art MuKHA Antwerp (Belgium)
\nMuseum Ludwig Cologne (Germany)
\nMuseum Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein Vaduz (Lichteinstein)
\nMuseum Kunstmuseum Lucerne (Switzerland)
\nMuseum Tinguely Basel (Switzerland) retrospective in 2016 “ist alles kunst? [archive]
\nMaillol Museum Paris (France). Exhibition “All is Art” September 2016
\nMuseum F\u00fcr Konkrete Kunst Ingolstadt (Germany)
\nMuseum of Modern Art Kampa Pragues (Czech Republic)
\nWalker Art Center Museum Minneapolis USA
\nVostell Malpartida Museum Caceres (Spain)
\nMUDIMA Foundation Milano (Italy)
\nFRAC Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes Region
\nFRAC PACA Region
\nFRAC Nord-Pas-de-Calais Region
\nFRAC Languedoc-Roussillon Region
\nFNAC Paris (France)
\nFaculty of Medicine Nice (France)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”External Documentation” tab_id=”1678893568949-cfb56258-9dbf”][vc_column_text]Personal website:<\/strong><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.ben-vautier.com<\/a><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.fondationdudoute.fr<\/a><\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.documentsdartistes.org\/artistes\/ben\/page1.html<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n Ben, pseudonym of Benjamin Vautier, born on July 18, 1935 in Naples in Italy, is a French artist of Swiss origin.<\/p>\n He became known to the public at the end of the 1960s, notably through his “writings” in various media and forms. Part of the post-modern artistic avant-garde, Ben is one of the main founders of the Fluxus group and close to Lettrism. He is an artist known for his performances, installations and writings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n In this way, universes as distant from the artistic field as ethnism, ego or truth have entered his work. Ben enjoys an incredible popularity thanks to his “writings” which combine impertinence and accuracy of purpose. Inscribing himself in the post-Duchamp context, and influenced by John Cage, George Maciunas, Dada and Isidore Isou, asking the question “What to do after Duchamp?”, Ben chooses the whole world as his workshop. From 1963 to 1967, Ben wrote ten conceptual films. The first one was a declaration-posters stuck on the walls of Nice and Cannes at the time of the Cannes Film Festival.<\/p>\n Writing: His first word painting seems to be “Il faut manger. You have to sleep” from 1953, a simple affirmation of life. However, this simplicity conveys a strong concept: Ben produces an art of the idea, well before the beginning of conceptual art as defined in most specialized books. At the time, Ben was looking for new artistic forms to talk about art and the art world. He then developed through his writings numerous and varied themes (ego, doubt, death, sex, the new, money…). The sentences Ben writes can be truths, comments (on the world, current events), scenarios, invectives (to the public, to the art world), observations… Suddenly appearing in the viewer’s field of vision, they bring a smile to the face and often give food for thought. In 2010 Ben creates in Nice, in the center of the Liberation district, the “Espace \u00e0 d\u00e9battre<\/em> “. A place that has come to life through many events.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Three years later Ben offered this place to his daughter Eva who set up the Eva Vautier Gallery<\/em>. It produces numerous exhibitions, performances, debates, bringing together citizens from all walks of life, contributing to the defense of these artists and contemporary art and creating a real dynamic contributing to give a new breath to the local artistic life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Biography” tab_id=”1678892505768-6257cba3-b5a1″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Ben Vautier<\/strong><\/p>\n Born in 1935, in Naples <\/p>\n PERSONAL EXHIBITIONS (selection)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1960<\/strong><\/p>\n Ben exposes Nothing and Everything Laboratory 32 Nice <\/p>\n 1966<\/strong><\/p>\n La C\u00e9dille qui Sourit, Villefranche Retrospective exhibition<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1970<\/strong><\/p>\n Galerie de La Salle, Vence Some ideas and gestures of Ben <\/p>\n 1971<\/strong><\/p>\n “Ecritures de 58 \u00e0 66 ” Galerie Daniel Templon Paris Personal exhibition 1972<\/strong> ” Gestes ” Galerie Daniel Templon Paris\/Milan<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1972<\/strong><\/p>\n Lia Rumma Gallery, Naples <\/p>\n 1973<\/strong><\/p>\n “La d\u00e9construction ” Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris <\/p>\n 1974<\/strong><\/p>\n Neue gallery, Aachen <\/p>\n 1975<\/strong><\/p>\n Gallery Bruno Bischofberger, Zurich <\/p>\n 1976<\/strong><\/p>\n Kunstwerein, Bremen <\/p>\n 1977<\/strong><\/p>\n Art is the others, Baudoin Lebon Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1979<\/strong><\/p>\n DAAD, Berlin<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1980<\/strong><\/p>\n Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris <\/p>\n 1981<\/strong><\/p>\n Catherine Issert Gallery, Saint Paul<\/p>\n Museum of Art and Industry, Saint Etienne (Ben free and crazy)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1982<\/strong><\/p>\n Castelli Graphics Gallery, New York <\/p>\n 1983<\/strong><\/p>\n Beaubourg Gallery, Paris (The portraits) <\/p>\n 1985<\/strong><\/p>\n Tout Ben ‘ G.A.C. at the Marine Nice <\/p>\n 1986<\/strong><\/p>\n Salla Parpalo, Valencia <\/p>\n 1987<\/strong><\/p>\n Camomille Gallery, Brussels (Les Miroirs) <\/p>\n 1988<\/strong><\/p>\n Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris <\/p>\n 1991<\/strong><\/p>\n “A story of ass ” Daniel Templon Gallery Paris <\/p>\n 1992<\/strong><\/p>\n “I have more room at home” Le Chanjour Gallery, Nice <\/p>\n 1993<\/strong><\/p>\n “I am alive I am in Nice” M.A.M.A.C., Nice <\/p>\n 1994<\/strong><\/p>\n “A bas la culture” Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1995<\/strong><\/p>\n “Ben, For or Against” Retrospective M.A.C., Marseille<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1996<\/strong><\/p>\n Museum of Solothurn, Switzerland<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1999<\/strong><\/p>\n “Life and death” Charlotte Moser Gallery, Geneva<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2000<\/strong><\/p>\n Gallery 1900-2000 show Fiac, Paris <\/p>\n 2001<\/strong><\/p>\n “I am looking for the truth” M.A.M.A.C., Nice <\/p>\n 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n “I wish I were a cactus” Gallery C. Gualco, Genoa <\/p>\n 2003<\/strong><\/p>\n “Mon psy et moi ” Galerie Charlotte Moser, Gen\u00e8ve Personal exhibition b ” Je suis en guerre ” Galerie Rive Gauche, strouk Paris <\/p>\n 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n “The world is changing” Arsenal, Metz <\/p>\n 2005<\/strong><\/p>\n “Art is dead long live art” Studio Marco Fioretti, Bergamo <\/p>\n 2006<\/strong> “Io dubito sempre” Gallery Soave, Alessandria <\/p>\n 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n “Tutto e competizione” JZ art trading, Milan <\/p>\n 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n “Gegen kunst” Gallery Schuppenhauer, koln <\/p>\n 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n “They all committed suicide” Templon Gallery Paris <\/p>\n 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n Retrospective ” Strip Tease int\u00e9gral ” Mus\u00e9e d’Art Contemporain, Lyon <\/p>\n 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n “No rose without thorns ” Galerie Rive Gauche, Paris Marcel Strouk <\/p>\n 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n “Being ” Ch\u00e2teau de Malbrouck, Manderen in Moselle <\/p>\n 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n “The black hole of the ego ” M\u00e9diath\u00e8que Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand, Argentan ( onfrey )i 2013<\/strong> ” Another Ben that … ” Helenbeck Gallery, Nice<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n “The theory of the ego ” Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris <\/p>\n COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS (selection)<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n MUSEUMS AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Center national d’art et de culture Georges-Pompidou Paris (France) [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”External Documentation” tab_id=”1678893568949-cfb56258-9dbf”][vc_column_text]Personal website:<\/strong><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.ben-vautier.com<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.fondationdudoute.fr<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.documentsdartistes.org\/artistes\/ben\/page1.html<\/a><\/p>\n
\nBen, whose real name is Benjamin Vautier, is a French artist of Swiss origin, born on July 18, 1935, in Naples (Italy), of an Irish and Occitan mother, and a French-speaking Swiss father. He is the grandson of Marc Louis Benjamin Vautier, a nineteenth-century Swiss painter. He lived his first five years in Naples. After the declaration of the Second World War in 1939, Ben and his mother travelled extensively: Switzerland, Turkey, Egypt, Italy… to finally settle in Nice in 1949. He studied at the Imperial Park School and at the Stanislas College boarding school. His mother finds him a job at the bookstore Le Nain bleu as an errand boy, and then buys him a stationery store. At the end of the 1950s, he sold it to open a small store, transforming its facade by accumulating a lot of objects and in which he sold second-hand records.
\nHis store quickly became a place for meetings and exhibitions where the main members of what would become the \u00c9cole de Nice met: C\u00e9sar, Arman, Martial Raysse, etc. Close to Yves Klein and seduced by the New Realism, he is convinced that “art must be new and bring a shock”. In 1955, he discovered the shape of the banana and made a series of drawings. This series marks the beginning of his graphic research. In 1959, he begins his “living sculptures”: he signs people in the street, his friends, and even his family. In 1965, he signed his own daughter, Eva Cun\u00e9gonde, then three months old. In the early 1960s, several artists attempted to appropriate the world as a work of art. Ben will sign anything he finds: “holes, mystery boxes, kicks, God, chickens, etc.”, linking art and life, explaining that everything is art and everything is possible in art. He joined the Fluxus movement in October 1962, following a meeting with George Maciunas in London. Between 1960 and 1963, he developed the notion of appropriation, of everything being art and everything possible in art. He then began his “Tas” series, piling up dirt and garbage on lots and signing them. In 1965, in his store, he created a three by three meter gallery in the mezzanine: “Ben doubts everything”. He exhibited Martial Raysse, Albert Chubac, Daniel Biga, Marcel Alocco, Bernar Venet, Serge Maccaferri, Serge III, Sarkis, Robert Filliou, Christian Boltanski, etc. In 1972, at the request of Harald Szeemann, he participated in Documenta V, where he met Robert Filliou, Marcel Broodthaers, Giuseppe Chiari and Joseph Beuys, among others. In 1977, the collective exhibition “A propos de Nice” inaugurating the Centre Georges Pompidou was a kind of Parisian recognition of the research carried out and matured outside the capital, by the School of Nice. In the preface to the catalog, Pontus Hulten wrote: “Contemporary art would not have had the same history without the activities and encounters that took place in the Nice region. He entrusts the preparation of the event to Ben. At the beginning of the 1980s, on his return from a year spent in Berlin at the DAAD, thanks to a grant, he met young artists: Salom\u00e9, Luciano Castelli, Helmut Middendorf and the members of the German Violent Painting. On his return to Nice, he organized with Marc Sanchez an exhibition-exchange between what he called the French Figuration Libre and young German painters. Robert Combas and Herv\u00e9 Di Rosa are exhibited in his house in Saint Pancrace, and Fran\u00e7ois Boisrond and R\u00e9mi Blanchard, among others, are exhibited at La galerie de la Marine in Nice. Very involved in the contemporary scene, he has always supported young artists and gives his point of view on all current events, whether cultural, political, anthropological or artistic, in his regular and prolix newsletters. He lives and works since 1975 on the heights of Saint-Pancrace, a hill in Nice. Ben’s work can be found in some of the world’s most important private and public collections, including MoMA in New York, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig in Vienna, the MUHKA in Antwerp, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Museum of Solothurn, the Mus\u00e9e National d’Art Moderne in Paris, the Mus\u00e9e d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain in Nice, the M.A.C. in Marseille, and the M.A.C. in Lyon. Married to Annie Baricalla since 1964, he has two children, Eva Cun\u00e9gonde and Fran\u00e7ois Malabar.<\/p>\n
\nThe signature: He starts to sign in 1958: paintings, people, photos. Ben then thought that if art is only about signature, then why not make a painting with just his own signature. Working with the concepts of self, ego and artist identity, Ben, “seems to be saying that since, to the public, art is synonymous with the artist’s signature, the more visible it is, the more the public will want that work. {…} At the same time, Ben speaks to the ego\/self and the importance of self-reference in art, the exploration of the self and the ego – both subjectively and as a subject.” His manifesto “Moi Ben je signe” in 1960 shows the radical nature of his approach.
\nGestures \/ Actions: Down to earth, Ben’s gestures are close to George Brecht’s “events”. They are also called “shares”. His first gestures date back to 1960, theorized in what he calls “appropriations”. At first poorly documented, they are then photographed and titled, on a support most often black, with a brief description. These gestures show small, a priori banal, daily, unspectacular actions that Ben puts forward, in a Fluxus spirit.
\nThe performances “Life never stops” is one of Ben’s phrases. Playing on the codes of happenings and performances developed in the United States in the 1950s (Black Mountain College, Allan Kaprow), Ben mixes life and art from the 1960s to produce performances called “Vomir”, “Hurler”, or “Dire la v\u00e9rit\u00e9”, which he realizes near his store in rue Tonduti de l’Escar\u00e8ne or in the streets of Nice, warning the public or not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nLives and works in Nice<\/p>\n
\nBen exposes Nothing and Everything Laboratory 32 Nice<\/p>\n
\nDaniel Templon Gallery Paris, All and Nothing
\nYelow Gallery, Brussels<\/p>\n
\nI.C.C. Antwerp, (Actions and gestures)<\/p>\n
\nArt = Ben Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam<\/p>\n
\nYelow Now Gallery, Liege<\/p>\n
\nGibson Gallery, New York
\n“Trying to be natural” Incontri Internazionali d’Arte, Roma
\nBaudoin Lebon Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n
\nLa Salle Gallery, Saint Paul<\/p>\n
\nMarika Malacorda Gallery, Geneva
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art, Montreal<\/p>\n
\nUnimedia Gallery, Genoa (The Falklands)<\/p>\n
\n“the writings ” Daniel Templon Gallery Paris
\nLara Vincy Gallery, Paris (boxes and ideas)<\/p>\n
\nStadt Gallery, Erlangen<\/p>\n
\nPierre Huber Gallery, Geneva (Banco)
\nCatherine Issert Gallery, Saint Paul de Vence
\nShuppenhauer Gallery, Essen (Germany) (Proust)
\nUnimedia Gallery, Genoa (Cultural Circus)
\nFRAC Pas de Calais
\nEmily Harvey Gallery, New York<\/p>\n
\nFRAC Calais exhibition of acquisitions
\nMuseum of Valence, (exhibition conference debate) 1987 Museum of C\u00e9ret, C\u00e9ret
\nLab\u00e8ge Innopole, Toulouse Ben from A to Z
\nM.U.K.H.A. Antwerp<\/p>\n
\nCatherine Issert Gallery (4 different exhibitions in I month)
\nC.C.C. Tours (with edition Jungle de l’Art)<\/p>\n
\nFrac Orl\u00e9ans I doubt therefore I am (sculpture for Descartes)
\nGalerie Malacorda, Geneva ” No art without detail “.
\nMudima Foundation, Milan
\n“7 years of happiness “Galerie Camomille, Brussels
\nEmily Harvey Gallery, New York
\nCenter Pompidou, Ben’s Questions Forum
\n“I know I always do too much” Marianne and Pierre Nahon Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n
\n“Basta!” Gallery La Marge, Ajaccio
\nBugno and Samuelli Gallery Venice, L’arte e sempre altrove ”
\nGallery of Contemporary Art, Saint Ravy Demangel, Montpellier
\n“It is necessary to be wary of the words ” Gallery Catherine Issert, Saint Paul
\n“I dont want to do art I want… “Galerie Shupenhauer, Cologne, Solo exhibition
\nArt and Joking Center, Montb\u00e9liard
\n“Switzerland does not exist” Rosalp Gallery, Verbier Switzerland<\/p>\n
\n“I don’t know how to paint” Gallery Guy Pieters, Knokke Zoute<\/p>\n
\n“La pagaille gagne du terrain ” Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris Exhibition<\/p>\n
\n“Ist das nicht wichtig” Museum Schwerin, Germany<\/p>\n
\nNational Museum of contemporary art, Korea Seoul Personal exhibition 2002<\/strong> ” La chambre du philosophe ” Galerie Lara Vincy, Paris
\n“Everything is music” Kahn Gallery, Strasbourg<\/p>\n
\nBen biz’art bazart, Daniel Templon Gallery, Paris
\n“Difficult to be another” Plastic Arts Center, Saint Fons<\/p>\n
\n“The hidden part of the Iceberg” Gallery Catherine Issert, Saint Paul<\/p>\n
\n“Bient\u00f4t on ne pourra plus arr\u00eater la machine ” Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris 2005<\/strong> Mus\u00e9e Chagall, Nice
\n“I am a sex maniac” Storme Gallery, Lille<\/p>\n
\n“The limits of photography” Andr\u00e9 Villers Museum, Mougins
\n“I’m drowning” Kahn Gallery, Ile de R\u00e9
\n“I’m no good at ceramics” Museum of pottery, Vallauris
\n“The Others” Marlborough Gallery, Monaco<\/p>\n
\n“I can’t stop myself” Gallery Guy Pieters, Knokke
\n“Tutto \u00e8 ego” Studio d’Arte Fioretti, Bergamo<\/p>\n
\n“Quien es Ben?” Retrospective Musee Vostel, Malpartida<\/p>\n
\n“La Baule privilege” Marcel Billy Gallery, La Baule<\/p>\n
\n“Contemporary art makes me laugh ” Lara Vincy Gallery, Paris
\n“Takes art as it comes” Gallery Shuppenhauer, Cologne
\n“I still have something to say ” Galerie Les Tournesols, Saint Etienne 2010<\/strong> ” Paniquez pas .. ” Nathalie Obadia Gallery, Brussels
\n“100% EN OCCITAN” Gallery Sollertis, Toulouse<\/p>\n
\n“And after that?” Museum of Louviers, Louviers
\n“Ben Vautier ” ART BORES ME Gallery Vicky David, New York<\/p>\n
\n“The freedom of …. “Catherine Issert Gallery, Saint Paul
\n“I’m not crazy ” Lara Vincy Gallery, Paris<\/p>\n
\n“Life is a game ” Galerie Laurent Strouk, Paris<\/p>\n
\nGuggenheim Museum New York
\nDocumenta V, Kassel (Harald Szeemann)<\/div>\n
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane
\nArt in France Centre Pompidou, Paris<\/div>\n
\nBiennale of Sydney, Sydney
\nGallery Littmann, Basel<\/div>\n
\nManifesto at the George Pompidou Center, Paris<\/div>\n
\nCabinet of Manipulations, Venice Zenobio Palace<\/div>\n
\nMuseum of Modern Art New York USA
\nMuseum of Modern Art of the City of Paris (France)
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art of Lyon M.A.C. Lyon (France)
\nMuseum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Nice MAMAC (France)
\nMuseum of contemporary art of Marseille (France)
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art of Val-de-Marne (MAC\/VAL) Vitry-sur-Seine (France)
\nMuseum of modern art of C\u00e9ret (France)
\nMuseum of Art and Industry of Saint-Etienne (France)
\nPicasso Museum (Antibes) (France)
\nNational Customs Museum Bordeaux (France)
\nEuropean House of Photography Paris (France)
\nFondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain Paris (France)
\nMuseum of the Object. Permanent installation ” Le Mur des Mots ” Blois (France)
\nLa Fondation du Doute Blois (France)
\nStedelijk Museum Amsterdam (Netherlands)
\nStaatliches Museum, Schwerin (Germany)
\nMagritte Museum, Brussels (Belgium)
\nMuseum of Art and History of Geneva (Switzerland)
\nMuseum of Contemporary Art MuKHA Antwerp (Belgium)
\nMuseum Ludwig Cologne (Germany)
\nMuseum Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein Vaduz (Lichteinstein)
\nMuseum Kunstmuseum Lucerne (Switzerland)
\nMuseum Tinguely Basel (Switzerland) retrospective in 2016 “ist alles kunst? [archive]
\nMaillol Museum Paris (France). Exhibition “All is Art” September 2016
\nMuseum F\u00fcr Konkrete Kunst Ingolstadt (Germany)
\nMuseum of Modern Art Kampa Pragues (Czech Republic)
\nWalker Art Center Museum Minneapolis USA
\nVostell Malpartida Museum Caceres (Spain)
\nMUDIMA Foundation Milano (Italy)
\nFRAC Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes Region
\nFRAC PACA Region
\nFRAC Nord-Pas-de-Calais Region
\nFRAC Languedoc-Roussillon Region
\nFNAC Paris (France)
\nFaculty of Medicine Nice (France)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n