Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne

A beautifully illustrated, concise critical analysis of the art, careers, and reception of the husband-wife team of artists known as Les Lalanne

François-Xavier (1927–2008) and Claude (1925–2019) Lalanne were a husband-wife team of artists who created inventive and often surprising works that have been widely admired and collected since the 1960s. Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne presents a carefully selected group of sculptures that focus on a shared preoccupation of the artists: the transformation of natural forms to serve new purposes. Examples include François-Xavier’s giant grasshopper sculpture that opens into a bar and Claude’s bench made of galvanised metal branches and vines, remaining as much a forest as a place to sit.

Critical analysis explores the full breadth of the artists’ careers; considers the complex issues of reception and categorisation of their work; and prompts a reevaluation of the place their art occupies in the context of art museums. This encourages readers to consider relationships among nature, art, and their own encounters with both.

Distributed for the Clark Art Institute

Exhibition Schedule:

Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA
(May 8–October 31, 2021)