Les Lalanne at Fairchild
-
-
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, presents the U.S.’s largest outdoor exhibition of works by French sculptors Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne as part of its renowned, annual visual art program. The exhibition, Les Lalanne at Fairchild, features more than twenty sculptures, including works never before publicly exhibited in the U.S., and one multi-piece work comprised of more than a dozen individual sculptures, to be installed throughout the Garden’s 83-acres of lush, tropical landscape designed by William Lyman Phillips, a key member of Central Park’s Frederick Law Olmstead architectural group for many years before moving to South Florida where he became a leading independent tropical landscape architect. The show opens on November 30, 2010, to coincide with Art Basel Miami Beach, and remains on view through May 31, 2011.
Drawing surrealist imagery from flora and fauna, the Lalanne’s sculptures create an extraordinary element of surprise and wonder set within Fairchild’s botanic paradise of rare palms, cycads, and flowering plants. “Fairchild is thrilled to present the outdoor exhibition of the remarkable works of renowned French artists Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne,” said Carl Lewis, Director of Fairchild. “The artists’ exuberant sculptures set amongst Fairchild’s world-class, unusual, tropical plant collections are sure to enchant visitors of all ages, as well as support our commitment to culture in South Florida.”
-
The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s world-famous landscape is the first in the U.S. to publicly host a series of premiere works by the renowned French artists. Works never before publicly exhibited in the U.S. to be featured in the monumental exhibition include, Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne’s Dimetrodon II (1998), a unique copper and steel topiary shaped in the form of a dinosaur from the Permian period, displaying a large Marlin-like fin and spouting water through shark-like teeth; and François-Xavier’s Canard sur L’Eau; Genie de Bellerive (Grand) Sur pylone (2007), a young owl with its wings spread in tribute to artist Max Ernst, and hovering upon a tall, abstract pedestal in homage to Constantin Brancusi, a close friend of the Lalannes; La Grande Ourse, a monumental bronze bear drawn into an upright stance; and Vache Paysage (La Grande) (2006), a bronze cow with its center doubling as a window through which to view the lush setting of Fairchild’s tropical gardens.
Accompanying the kingdom of the Lalanne’s animal-inspired works is Claude Lalanne’s (b. 1924) exquisite Olympe (Grande) (2001), depicting a young girl modeled after the image of the artists’ granddaughter, with cast lettuce leaves draped as a mantle upon her shoulders and a triumphant spray of water shooting up from her right hand; and, Pomme d’Hiver (2008), a large-scale bronze sculpture of a golden apple which serves as an iconic piece in the artist’s oeuvre--both sculptures also making their first publicly exhibited appearance in the U.S.
Traveling to the lush setting of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden from the urban environment of New York’s Park Avenue where they appeared in Fall 2009 are: Claude Lalanne’s Choupatte (Très Grand) (2008), an anthropomorphized cabbage with bird’s feet, textured and colored by verdigris; François-Xavier’s Oiseau de nuit (Grand), (2004), a wise owl that perches knowingly atop its bronze pedestal; and François-Xavier’s Wapiti (1996), a North-American deer that looks over its shoulder, making viewers aware of the animals’ perspective. Also to be shown are François-Xavier Lalanne’s (1927–2008) final sculpture, Singe Avisé (Très Grand), a regal monkey seated with his legs crossed and a pensive expression; and, Moutons (1988–1994), which features a life-size flock of more than a dozen sheep and lambs, crafted from epoxystone and bronze.
The beauty of the garden’s world-renowned landscape is also further enhanced by a series of elegant outdoor furniture pieces cast from nature by Claude Lalanne as commissioned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. And, making its return to the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden will be François-Xavier’s Requin (Grand), a sleek white bronze shark complete with stylized gills and dynamic fins which was last seen at Fairchild in December of 2007 after a year of exhibition.
-
Les Lalanne at Fairchild is being presented in conjunction with Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York.
Having rediscovered the Renaissance art of casting forms from life, then employing contemporary electro-plating techniques, Claude Lalanne achieves a delicacy and sensitivity in her work unparalleled in cast bronze. François-Xavier Lalanne similarly found inspiration for his works in nature. In his words, "The animal world constitutes the richest and most varied forms on the planet." His subjects consist of a menagerie of animals, stylized forms oftentimes married with functionality. His works achieve streamlined elegance in their profound simplicity.
The Lalanne’s work, known individually and collectively since the 1960s, has been exhibited extensively in important exhibitions, and most recently, featured on New York’s Park Avenue in the artists’ U.S. public art debut. The Lalannes are represented in major private and public collections, including: the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (New York); Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne/Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris); Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris); the City of Paris; the City of Santa Monica; and the City of Jerusalem. Les Lalanne at Fairchild continues Fairchild’s annual exhibition of art to support its various programs and encourage cultural enhancement in South Florida. Fairchild houses internationally important collections of rare tropical fruit and cycads, as well as the largest palm collection in the U.S. The Garden maintains an international conservation program, which works with more than 20 countries to preserve some of the world’s rarest species and tropical habitats.
-
Join our Newsletter
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.
-
Explore
-
Ian Davenport: Tides
October 30 – December 19, 2024 509 West 27th Street, New YorkIan Davenport’s latest works expand his series of poured acrylic paintings that spill across the gallery floor, employing the signature technique that defined the artist’s recent architectural interventions across Europe, namely in the Giardini at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017) and at the Chiostro del Bramante in Rome (2022-23). The exhibition also introduces metallic paint into Davenport’s artistic vocabulary, deepening the artist’s engagement with the colors and materials of Italian Renaissance painting. -
Elliott Puckette: Unfolding
October 30 – December 19, 2024 297 Tenth Avenue, New YorkThe artist's eleventh solo exhibition at the gallery features a suite of new paintings and bronze sculptures that expand upon the artist’s signature visual exploration of the line as a formal device to realize her atmospheric abstractions. -
Julie Hamisky: Transference
October 30 – December 19, 2024 514 West 28th Street, New YorkImmortalizing the most intricate details of the natural world, Julie Hamisky continues to garner international recognition for her rigorous electroplating technique that belies the ephemeral forces of nature. In freestanding sculptures, mirrors, chandeliers, and fine jewelry, Hamisky’s transformative approach to casting organic matter preserves fleeting moments in time.
-
-
Explore
- Diana Al-Hadid
- Alma Allen
- Theodora Allen
- Sara Anstis
- Ali Banisadr
- Tina Barney
- Judith Bernstein
- JB Blunk
- Mattia Bonetti
- William N. Copley
- Cynthia Daignault
- Ian Davenport
- Max Ernst
- Liam Everett
- Leonor Fini
- Barry Flanagan
- Walton Ford
- Jane Freilicher
- vanessa german
- Daniel Gordon
- Alexander Harrison
- Elliott Hundley
- Lee Krasner
- Les Lalanne
- Matvey Levenstein
- Lyn Liu
- Robert Motherwell
- Jamie Nares
- Nengi Omuku
- Robert Polidori
- Jackson Pollock
- Elliott Puckette
- Alexis Ralaivao
- George Rickey
- James Rosenquist
- Mark Ryden
- Jan-Ole Schiemann
- Joel Shapiro
- Bosco Sodi
- Dorothea Tanning
- Naama Tsabar
- Bernar Venet