Claude Rutault: Exposition – Suicide at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris

Exposition – suicide is French artist Claude Rutault’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin. On display are 23 works, both historical works from the 1970s in particular (definition- method 208c painting, depainting, repainting and definition/method 98 : to be continued), as well as nine new works.

Since 1973, Claude Rutault uses a simple method to create new artworks. Definition-method is a text, describing a procedure that makes it possible to realize a painting by Claude Rutault. For example, the definition/method 1 of 1973 reads: “canvas per unit. a canvas braced on a stretcher, painted the same colour as the wall on which it is hung. can be used standard formats available in the trade, be they rectangular, square, round or oval. hanging arrangement is traditional.”

During the opening on January 8, 2011, Christie’s auctioned off one of the artworks on display. The auction followed the same definition/method process. For more information on how the exhibition came about, Claude Rutault’s work and the auction sale of Rutault’s work “definition/method 189 : at number 189 we sell (1988)” please follow the jump.

Claude Rutault was born in 1941 in Trois-Moutiers (France). He lives and works in Paris. His work can be found in numerous public collections such as the SMAK Stedelijk Museum; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and Mamco, Musée d’art moderne et contemporain Genève. He participated in Documenta 6 (1977) and 7 (1982) in Kassel.

Claude Rutault: exposition – suicide at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris. Vernissage, January 8, 2011.