The first look at 15 exceptional works by Claude and Franois-Xavier Lalanne from the collection of the artists' daughter, Madame Marie Lalanne, will be unveiled by Christie's in Paris on October 19, 2022. These works will serve as the centrepiece of Christie's Sculpting Paradise sale, which will take place in New York on December 7, 2022.
The auction house is proud to collaborate with Kering to offer a specially curated exhibition at its Paris offices at 40, rue de Sevres for this global debut of the sale's highlights. This exhibit comes exactly two years after a public exhibition of sculpture highlights from the sale The Secret Garden of Paul Haim held at Kering in October 2020. It will run concurrently with the first edition of Paris+ par Art Basel.
The preview will display a selection of the artists' most significant works, chosen from the approximately 200 lots that will be sold at the auction house at New York in Rockefeller Center -- the first sale of this size for the artists ever held in the United States. The preview will be open to collectors from all over the world from October 19 to October 23, 2022.
The preview in Paris, which is being staged outside in Kering's iconic central courtyard, will vividly depict the alluring power of the legendary Lalannes, who are regarded as some of the most gifted and innovative painters of the 20th and 21st century. This historical building's distinctive architecture will serve as the fleeting backdrop for this amazing collection.
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Claude & Francois-Xavier Lalanne: Nature Transformed at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Les Lalanne a Trianon at the Chateau de Versailles last year, and Les Lalanne at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris in 2010 are among the highlights on display.
Alex Heminway, Christie's International Head of Design, remarks: "Christie's has had the privilege of presenting works by Les Lalanne across the past three decades; despite that long commitment to the artists' market, their preternatural work, which stands outside of nature, continues to startle with its ingenuity and profound poetry. It is an honor to be working on behalf of Madame Marie Lalanne to bring her historic collection to the public."
Selected Works on View at Kering's HQ in Paris
Fran ois-Xavier and Claude Lalanne both believed art should be part of everyday life, an ideal reflected in both the sculptural and functional aspects of their creations. Poisson Paysage V perfectly embodies this conviction, opening a window onto the world, both symbolically and literally.
Notable for their grandeur, the highlights in the exhibition explore the artists' signature themes and creatures, from sharks to sheep, bears to birds. Juxtaposing a Grand Requin beside Trois Grands Moutons de Peter, La Grande Ourse alongside a Grand Mouflon de Ram Island, and even an Oiseau de Jardin, Francois-Xavier Lalanne's creations demonstrate his virtuosic skill as architect of an imaginary world, combining powerful creativity with a mastery of gesture.
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The poetic work of Claude Lalanne harmonizes the realms of animal and plant, illustrated perfectly by a Grand Choupatte, one of her most emblematic creations. Exemplary of the artist's oeuvre; it employs notions of whimsy and Surrealism, and the delicacy in the carving of the cabbage leaves evokes the intricate shapes found in her Williamsburg series of chairs and benches. Through pieces such as L'Enlevement d'Europe and the patinated bronze 'Petite Olympe' Fountain, the exhibition also reveals the couple's shared fascination with mythology.
International Tour
Following Paris, highlights from Sculpting Paradise: The Collection of Marie Lalanne will tour to Los Angeles and Dubai. Holograms of the sculptures will be presented in Hong Kong prior to the sale in New York on 7 December.
