Claude Viallat at Le Boulou
By Ellen Turner Hall
Claude Viallat’s playful take on art is currently filling the Espace des arts, Le Boulou. As the godfather of the Supports/Surfaces movement of the 1970’s, Viallat is quoted as saying: Nothing is thrown away. I collect everything and I start from the principle that what is negative is positive.
Viallat‘s early works featured experiments with solarisation: laying fishing nets over large canvases to create what became his signature wonky rectangles. Later the same shapes were painted or printed in series on large rectangular unframed canvases.
This show is a departure. Paint is applied to canvas, curtains, sails, dresses, chair covers, umbrellas. Using whatever striped or flowered fabric he could get his hands on, Viallat has arranged them in kimono-like constructions, long strings or random ragged-edged inventions layered one on top of the other.
Returning to his fascination with fishing tackle, Viallat uses rudders and ropes to create a number of objects which hang from the ceiling, grow from the floor or project from the wall.
The magic is in the vision, understanding the potential of materials. Where we see a wooden carton and a stick, Viallat sees a bull’s head. Negative to positive. Hey, Presto!
The exhibition runs to 5 October 2024. Espace des Arts, Le Boulou. 04.68.83. 36.32 and espacedesarts.pro
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