Born in 1936 , Nîmes,France
Lives and works in Nîmes,France
Claude Viallat co-founded the Supports/Surfaces movement in the 1970s alongside artists such as Vincent Bioules and Daniel Dezeuze, devoting his practice to expanding painting beyond the context of traditional stretched canvases. A rounded rectangle, sometimes described as resembling a bone, became his signature shape. Viallat repeated this form across various surfaces such as industrial tarps, stitched-together fabric samples, and loose hanging sheets. His vibrant paintings are awash in squiggly geometric forms and kaleidoscopic patterns, enhanced by his use of nontraditional materials. Throughout his practice, the artist united formal experimentation with bold, lively palettes. Viallat has exhibited extensively in cities around the world. His work has sold for six figures at auction and belongs in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Fondation Cartier, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Kunstmuseum Basel, among other institutions.