Claude Viallat

A renowned French artist and co-founder of France‘s avant-garde movement, Support-Surface, Claude Viallat takes an unconventional approach to painting. He has put stretcher and canvas aside, preferring instead to use more unusual supports such as all kinds of fabrics. In a career spanning over forty years, he has not only questioned some principles of his art, he also continues to surprise his audience despite an apparent focus on and repetition of the same subject matter in the guise of a pared-down, deliberately neutral form that he intends to be neither organic nor geometrical.

An astonishing variety emerges from this continuous repetition, which is in part due to the endlessly varied use of textiles including old bedsheets, tablecloths, tent sheeting, sails, canopies, jute bags and umbrellas. Prior to superimposing the web of asymmetric contours that constitute his form, Viallat often applies to the fabric a uniform ground or coat of paint. The ground and the form are equal partners in the resulting delicate and thrilling balance of opulent colours.

Many significant museum collections in France and elsewhere are the proud owners of works by Claude Viallat, which have also featured at countless international exhibitions. The artist was honoured by a solo show at Centre Pompidou, Paris, France, and on two occasions represented France at the Venice Biennial.

In the German-speaking world, however, this extraordinary artist has had very few solo shows. Walter König Verlag recently published a comprehensive catalogue that accompanies an exhibition travelling to three locations in Germany. Galerie Andres Thalmann are extremely pleased to dedicate this exhibition to Claude Viallat.