Untitled, 1980

Basel 2018
Untitled

Templon

Painting
Acrylic on military awning
Claude Viallat is one of the founders of the Supports/Surfaces movement in the 1970s, which called for art to renew itself through the deconstruction of traditional materials. He started to work on industrial tarp, endlessly repeating the same ovoid form, resembling a small bone, which became his signature. Stenciled repeatedly onto a range of supports, the pattern reflects upon the meaning of the creative act, interrogating the work of art as such. Viallat has been included in many group shows in France and abroad, including a retrospective at the Centre Pompidou in 1982. Supports/Surfaces is now going through a major historical rediscovery. The project presented, employing military awning, is one of Viallat’s most spectacular pieces. It was created in 1980 and shown at the Pompidou in 1982. It was never exhibited afterwards.