Lalanne, A World of Poetry, The Ultimate Collection (book)

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Lalanne, A World of Poetry, The Ultimate Collection (book) by Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand. Assouline Publishing. 2023. Linen hardcover. New in English, 240 pages with 200 illustrations. Large format: W 16 x L 17 x D 3 inches. Weight: 25 lb. Presented in a luxurious linen clamshell box adorned with a metal plaque, this spectacular book 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 creations are as functional as they are whimsical, whether it’s a hippopotamus’s belly opening to reveal a sea bass, newts fused from leaves unfurled to form a fork, or a tangle of intertwined twigs forming a bench.

In tribute to the ever-captivating and whimsical sculptures of François-Xavier and Claude, this book, part of the Ultimate collection, explores some of their most iconic pieces from their rich body of work.

Author Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand, gallerist and longtime friend of the couple, writes a magnificent text that traces the Lalanne family’s meteoric rise, from their beginnings in Paris’s Impasse Ronsin and their first exhibition, which caught the attention of gallerist Alexandre Iolas, to their lasting legacy as one of the most inventive and poetic masters of design.

Over the years, Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand has become a leading expert on the Lalanne family’s art and has dedicated a dozen books and catalogs to their work.

Feel free to check out the additional photos at the top left, thank you!

If you prefer to pay in euros, =before= you start ordering, you must click on the word “Français” in orange, under the main photo above, which will redirect you to the same description in French and payment in Euros.