François-Xavier Lalanne French, 1927-2008

Born in France, the sculptor François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008) is acclaimed for establishing the animal and natural world as the foundation of his designs. Initiated to art through painting, he is in regular contact with Constantin Brancusi, but meeting his future wife Claude (1925-2019), an architect trained at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, gives new impetus to his career. Their paths cross in a symbiotic work combining sculpture and decoration from which hybrid objects emerge: as their work becomes inextricably linked yet remains independent from each other’s, their first joint exhibition “Zoophites” takes place at Jeanine Restany’s J gallery in 1964, where François-Xavier presents his “Rhinocrétaire”, a rhinoceros sculpture turning into a desk, whereas Claude the “Choupattes”, half- cabbage, half-animal sculptures. The aesthetics and functionality of their creations break the sacredness historically attributed to sculpture, and blur the boundary between art and craft. Influenced by the Surrealism of René Magritte or Salvador Dalí with whom they formed tight friendships, Lalanne’s fantastic bestiary - sheep, hippos, geese, fish and monkeys, among others – becomes iconic on the international art scene, quickly reaching the interiors of high society whose members regularly spend time in the Lalanne house-atelier in Ury. By diverting the conventional codes of design, François- Xavier Lalanne’s sculpture-objects are among the most appreciated pieces across all generations. They can be found in the collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Mobilier National in Paris; the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.