Lalanne’s sheep exhibition

TWENTY-TWO !

Anne Gruner Schlumberger (1905 – 1993) was one of the first collectors to acquire the “Pour Polyphème” set by François-Xavier Lalanne, for her Treilles estate, in Tourtour, in Haut-Var.

François-Xavier Lalanne 

François-Xavier Lalanne is a French sculptor from the second half of the 20th century known for his works on the border between sculpture and decorative arts.

First trained in painting at the Julian Academy, he abandoned this medium when he met, in 1952, his future wife Claude (1925-2019) with whom he began to work in 1956. The two artists shared the conviction that the work of art can have a functional use and wish to restore a familiar dimension to the sculpture, thus shaking up the hierarchy of the arts.

Entitled “Zoophites”, their first joint exhibition took place in 1964 at Jeanine Restany’s J gallery in Paris and set the tone for their future creations. Nature and the animal world thus very early become an infinite repertoire of forms from which the couple constantly draws inspiration. These representations, recognizable by all, allow them to combine new forms and uses in poetic works often tinged with surrealism.

Close to Max Ernst, Anne Gruner’s favorite sculptor, they also frequented the Nouveaux Réalistes without being directly associated with any movement. Combining inspirations from the artistic news of their time, nature or archaic aesthetics, the artist couple claims great artistic freedom.

Their work quickly caught the interest of prestigious collectors and art lovers who would never stop collecting their works, present today in the largest public and private collections in the world.