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(CNN) — Ben, the French artist best known for his irreverent approach to modern art, has died aged 88, taking his own life hours after the death of his wife, his family said in a statement Wednesday.
Annie Vautier, Ben’s wife, died at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, having suffered a stroke on Monday, the Vautier family said in a statement posted to the Facebook page of the family gallery.
“Unwilling and unable to live without her, Ben killed himself a few hours later at their home,” in the south of France, the artist’s family announced.
“Geniuses never stay alone,” his family added.
The couple married in the 1960s and are survived by two children, Eva and Francois.
Ben, born Benjamin Vautier in 1935, was known for his light-hearted black-on-white slogans, written in a childlike hand.
He gained notoriety for his performative art, including signing everyday objects and other artists’ work.
He spent his early childhood in Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Egypt, until arriving in Nice in 1949, where he spent the rest of his life.
A self-taught artist, Ben’s foray into the art world started in the late 1950s, when he opened a store in Nice that became an exhibition space and meeting place for artists.
He was associated with the Fluxus movement of the 1960s, known for its playful and experimental approach, intended to break down the boundaries between art and daily life.
Robert Pratta/Reuters
Ben poses next to one of his art works during his exhibition ‘Strip-tease integral’ at the Museum of Modern Art in March 2010. The sentence reads “I am at war with myself.”
The Elysee Palace paid tribute to “one of France’s most popular artists.”
“On our children’s pencil cases, on so many everyday objects and even in our imaginations, Ben left his mark, made of freedom and poetry, of apparent lightness and overwhelming depth,” the Elysee statement said.
His works have been exhibited around the world, from the Museum of Modern Art in New York to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney.
A recreation of his old shop, made of its dismantled remains, are on display at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and covered in his iconic handwriting.
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