Comité Les Lalanne - François-Xavier Lalanne

Photo: Paul Kasmin © Estate of Paul Kasmin,
Courtesy of Kasmin, New-York 

François-Xavier Lalanne

François-Xavier Lalanne,
28 august 1927 in Agen,
7 december 2008 in Ury.

After studying painting at the Académie Julian, François-Xavier Lalanne turned to sculpture in the early 1950s.

Comité Les Lalanne - An unclassifiable body of work

Photo: Paul Kasmin © Estate of Paul Kasmin,
Courtesy of Kasmin, New-York 

An unclassifiable
body of work

Combining surrealist humour and formal rigour, François-Xavier's bestiary is part of a 20th-century aesthetic tradition ranging from Pompon to Brancusi, who was notably his studio neighbour in Montparnasse.

Famous for his unclassifiable works such as the Rhinocrétaire, the Moutons de laine and the Gorille de sûreté, François-Xavier Lalanne is convinced that sculpture, and more broadly works of art, can have a function. His style is driven by his spirit of synthesis, combining simplicity with formal rigour.

Comité Les Lalanne - sheep2.jpg

Photo: Paul Kasmin © Estate of Paul Kasmin, 
Courtesy of Kasmin, New-York 

Comité Les Lalanne - singe.jpg

Photo: Paul Kasmin © Estate of Paul Kasmin,
Courtesy of Kasmin, New York 

Comité Les Lalanne - wapiti 1.jpg

Photo: Paul Kasmin © Estate of Paul Kasmin,
Courtesy of Kasmin, New-York