This October, Christie’s will present its inaugural solo auction of legendary surrealist French sculptor François-Xavier Lalanne’s works, opening with a public exhibit curated by French luxury fashion designer Jacquemus.
The special auction will feature 70 lots, encompassing an eclectic menagerie of the artist’s zoomorphic artworks, all from the collection of Lalanne’s daughter, Dorothée Lalanne. In November of 2021, the Sotheby’s auction of other pieces from Dorothée’s collection grossed double the high estimate at €129 million (almost $150 million), the highest grossing collection sold in France in over a decade.
François-Xavier Lalanne, Très Grand Centaure (2001) credit: Christie’s Images LTD. 2024
The live sale will take place on October 10th, preempted by the Jacquemus-curated exhibition at Christie’s Rockefeller Center opening on October 4th. In a statement from Christie’s, Dorothée explained her decision to collaborate with Jacquemus: “Francois-Xavier worked in a way that appeared casual but in fact was very rigorous, thoughtful, and elegant. Yet, he always maintained a sense of humor. It seemed evident to invite Simon Porte Jacquemus to create the exhibition for this auction. His work is so playful, so full of light and joy in a world where so few things are inspiring.”
Art is often intertwined with the daring designer’s oeuvre. Jacquemus started the year off by staging his namesake brand’s fashion show, dubbed “Les Sculptures” in front of Giacometti sculptures at Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul de Vence, France. His affiliation with the Lalanne exhibition can be viewed as a passing of the torch. Les Lalanne have always had close ties to the fashion world. Yves Saint Laurent was one of the couple’s dearest friends and collaborators and commissioned many pieces for his homes.
Lalanne’s life-size sculptures often invoke enchanted woodland beings. A sampling of what’s on offer at the auction: a great bronze centaur, wielding a staff in one arm and a mammoth drawing compass in the other, and a tortoise with a curated microworld of shrubs and succulents sprouting on its back. His sculptures frequently serve utilitarian functions, doubling as furniture such as tables and bookends, meant to be touched and interacted with rather than appreciated from afar.
Sculptors Les Lalanne posing with their sheep chairs at Paris Bagatelle Park On March 1St, 1998 – In Paris,France (Photo by Frederic REGLAIN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
François-Xavier was one half of Les Lalanne, the French artist couple along with his wife Claude Lalanne. Their creations often blend the worlds of fine and decorative art, and are imbued with a flick of humor and levity. He preferred to create animal figures while she preferred vegetation, like giant copper cabbages standing on chicken feet. The most famous of their works are likely their highly coveted sheep chairs, which are exactly what they sound like: functional chairs designed as life-size, fluffy, generic sheep, like the kind you count to help you fall asleep.
François-Xavier Lalanne, Très Grand Ours (2009) Courtesy of Christie’s Images LTD. 2024
New York’s Kasmin Gallery recently presented a curated selection of works by Les Lalanne, an exhibition focused on pieces from the collection of their eldest daughter, Caroline Hamisky Lalanne. Another exhibition showcasing over 150 of the duo’s works, Planète Lalanne, is currently on view in Italy, running concurrently with the 2024 Venice Biennale through November of this year.
Though the appeal of the artists’ surreal twist on naturalism has thrived for generations, (their list of clients and fans throughout the years includes Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, and Niki de Saint Phalle) their market skyrocketed after Claude’s death in 2019, with François-Xavier preceding her in 2008, which signaled the finiteness of the artists’ collection of works.
François-Xavier Lalanne, Tortue Topiaire III (2000) Courtesy of Christie’s Images LTD. 2024
Since then, François-Xavier’s sculpture Rhinocrétaire I (1964), a massive brass rhinoceros with a beverage bar concealed within, set a world record for Christie’s when it sold for almost $19.5 million last year. This year’s auction will include some of Francois-Xavier’s most acclaimed works, including Le Tres Grand Ours (2009), with a value estimated at $2 – $3 million, and Lapin A Vent De Tourtour (2001), estimated at $1 – $1.5 million. Both artworks were previously on display at the Versailles as part of the “Les Lalannes A Trianon” exhibit.
The exhibition will be free and open to the public from October 4th through October 10th from 10:00am to 5:00pm at Christie’s 20 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.