Lalanne: A World of Poetry
Housed in a luxury linen clamshell case with a metal plaque, this spectacular tome is a sculpture in its own right. François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne are one of the most creative couples of the last century, celebrated for their surrealist sculptural works. Their pieces are as functional as they are whimsical, whether it’s the belly of a hippopotamus hinging open to reveal a wet bar, tritones fused from unfurled leaves to form a fork, or a tangle of twigs intertwined to form a bench. In celebration of François-Xavier and Claude’s ever-enchanting and whimsical sculptures, this tome, part of Assouline's Ultimate collection, explores some of their most iconic pieces from their rich body of work. Author Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand, the couple’s longtime gallerist and friend, pens a magnificent text that traces the Lalannes’s meteoric rise, from their early days in Paris’s Impasse Ronsin and their first show that caught the attention of gallerist Alexandre Iolas, to their lasting legacy as one