‘Loss of a legend’: French artist Ben commits suicide just hours after wife’s death

French artist Ben, best known for his ironic painted slogans, died at age 88 by killing himself at his home in Nice, France just hours after his wife’s death, his family said on Wednesday (June 5).

His wife, Annie, suffered a stroke on Monday evening and died on Wednesday, the couple’s two children, Eva and Francois, said in a statement.

“Unwilling and unable to live without her, Ben killed himself a few hours later at their home” in the French Mediterranean city of Nice, they said.

Ben Vautier, widely known by the artistic moniker Ben, was found with a gunshot wound. The Nice prosecutor’s office would open an investigation into his death, reported ArtNews.

Born in Naples in 1935, the artist moved to Nice aged 14 and spent the rest of his life there.

"On our children's pencil cases, on so many everyday objects and even in our imaginations, Ben had left his mark, made of freedom and poetry, of apparent lightness and overwhelming depth," French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement.

‘Goldsmith of Language’

Associated with the Fluxus movement of the 1960s, Ben sought to disrupt what counted as art, with a style of street-based, provocative irony that proved highly influential.

He would often say, “Everything is art.” He would sign anything he wanted, claiming it as his creation: the bodies of passers-by on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, or even other artists’ work.

“My art will be an art of appropriation. I seek to sign everything that has not been signed. I believe that art is in the intention and that it is enough to sign,” he once said, with a smile as always.

He became best known for his humorous slogans, usually painted in white on a black background, in a childlike handwriting: “What is the use of art?”, “Is the new always new?”, “What are you doing here?”
Vautier’s work earned him a place in the world’s most prominent museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Centre Pompidou and the Stedelijk Museum.

His work was also replicated widely, so much so that his slogans became a staple on socks, tote bags, pencil cases and notebooks.

He was also known for his thought-provoking performances: standing in the window of a gallery and shouting until losing his voice, swimming across the Port of Nice, organising plays that never happened and piano recitals where the pianist would run away.

"The world of culture has lost a legend," Culture Minister Rachida Dati commented, dubbing Vautier a "goldsmithoflanguage".

(With inputs from agencies)