Benjamin Vautier, better known by his stage name Ben, was found dead this Wednesday June 5 in his house in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes). An investigation was opened to determine the causes of his death.
Benjamin Vautier, better known by his stage name Ben, 88 years old, was found dead in his house in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) this Wednesday, June 5, BFM Nice Côte d’Azur learned from consistent sources.
He was known in particular for his famous slogans written in white handwritten letters on a black background.
He was found with a bullet in the head.
An investigation has been opened and will determine the causes of his death.
The Smur, firefighters and a police rescue crew are on site. Police officers from the legal support group are also present to carry out initial findings.
“We already miss him terribly”
Many political figures reacted to the death of the artist, as well as that of his wife. Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice, is “upset” by this disappearance.
“My friend Ben, this wonderful artist who embodies a large part of the culture in Nice has left us. Yesterday, I learned of the disappearance of Annie, his wife. They are reunited as they always were. The school of Nice loses one of its main founders, I already miss him terribly,” he wrote on Threads.
The councilor indicates that the city will pay tribute to him “to the height of his genius”.
“Well for me he’s more than a friend, he’s my family. There are pieces that I made with him that are over 35 years old,” declares Robert Roux, deputy mayor of Nice in charge of culture, at BFM Nice Côte d’Azur.
He adds: “Ben is inseparable from Annie, they were close-knit. I knew that if something happened to Annie, it would be violent. Ben spoke all the time about the ego in art and, in the end, it’s he who has the least, Ben, was also the leader of the Nice school, without him, there would have been no Nice school.
On his account always returned to the South, at home! Our region loses one of its artists”.
“Ben is no more, but his art will remain forever in the hearts of the people of Nice,” writes Charles Ange Ginésy, president of the Alpes-Maritimes department.