Claude Rutault, French Artist Who Rewrote the Rules of Painting, Dies at 80

Claude Rutault, a French artist whose paintings were made according to rigorous sets of rules, has died at 80, the ARTnews reports. Born in 1941 in Trois Moutiers, France, Rutault’s paintings had an intrinsic quality of departure from the traditional and were, he thought, often covert depictions of humour. Rutault’s paintings bridged the gap between postwar abstraction and the lofty ideas of the Minimalist and Conceptualist art movements.

His works denote stark abstractions and many of them are monochromes. They are the result of processes done according to strict determinations written out by Rutault in advance. Because those rules can effectively be followed by anyone, Rutault claimed he never made his works themselves. He also said he did not involve himself in these works’ exhibition or sales, effectively removing himself entirely, the ARTnews writes.

Before Perrotin mounted an exhibition of his work in New York in 2014, he had not had a solo show in New York since 1979. Still, early on, he figured in important shows at important French venues such as the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris and the Centre Pompidou, as well as the 1977 and 1982 editions of Documenta in Kassel, Germany.