Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, date unknown.François-Xavier Lalanne, sculptor of surrealistic animal objets and furniture, died on December 7th at his home in the village of Ury, south of Paris. Lalanne turned interior design on its ear when, in 1964, he created a rhinoceraus-shaped secretary. A zoo full of creatures followed including his most famous creations, "Moutons," 24 sheep figures meant to serve as stools or seats.
Lalanne counted Max Ernst, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, and Constantin Brancusi (with whom he shared studio space) as artistic influences. Lalanne is survived by his wife and artistic partner of more than 40 years, Claude.
Life magazine, 1967.
Life magazine, 1967.
"Table aux Antilopes, 2004."
"Hippopotame II (bar), 1976."
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8 comments:
RIP, little buddy. Hope you left me that golden Rhino desk in your will...
What a creative genius. I have always had a strange fondness for those sheep and that antelope table is nifty. We have a cast iron bull table in our entry bought at auction (not his), it's something I never thought would grab my attention, but I couldn't resist it!
I want a mouton SO BADLY... someday... someday...
Today I went to my mom's house-construction site where they are re-doing her house, and I was SO SAD to find that my big brass giraffe (maybe 5' tall), which has been in the family since I was little and I was planning to steal for my own house someday... was gone. Fuckin' workers probably threw it out! ARGH!!
NKP - You should post a photo, I'd love to see it!
WPZ - Those bastards! May they spend eternity in the flocked velvet wallpaper room of Hell.
WPZ- what assholes! I second Raina's comment above! (BTW Raina...nice pic)
I want that gold antelope table!
A hippopotamus walks into a bar...or is it a man walks into a hippopotamus bar...?
That desk is awesome!
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