He gained worldwide recognition for his contribution to the French artistic movement Supports/Surfaces, along with Vincent Bioulès, Louis Cane, Daniel Dezeuze and Patrick Saytour. Yet, for Claude Viallat, the movement represented much more than a transitory phase in his career. This work, produced in 2008, still bears one of his trademarks: the colored "imprints" he became known for in the 1970s. By abolishing all sense of depth and center in his works, Viallat points to the materiality of painting, thus revealing its true essence. His use of industrial supports (in this case, tarp) alludes to another recurring theme in his work: the desacralization of painting, which the artist wishes to anchor in life itself.
1936 Born in Nîmes, France
1963 Graduates from l'École des Beaux-Arts de Paris
1969 Joins the Supports / Surfaces movement
1997 Solo exhibition at the Carré d’Art museum (Nîmes)
Lives and works in Nîmes
