artist/ Claude Rutault

France

Claude Rutault developed a radical conceptual approach known as définitions/méthodes. Beginning in 1973, he wrote instructions describing how paintings should be installed and repainted according to their environment. Typically, canvases are painted the same color as the wall on which they hang, dissolving the boundary between artwork and space. Rutault shifted emphasis from object to protocol, redefining painting as a mutable process. His work challenges authorship and permanence, foregrounding context as an integral component. Through systematic definitions, he expanded the conceptual possibilities of painting within contemporary art discourse.