Rhinocéros Screenprint, from an original drawing by François-Xavier Lalanne 1976

François-Xavier Lalanne was born in 1927 in Agen. After the war, he moved to Paris where he studied at the Académie Julian to become a painter. On the occasion of his first exhibition at the Cimaise Gallery in Paris in 1952, Lalanne met Claude Dupeux (Lalanne), his future wife. After meeting her, he gave up painting and started working with her. 

The first joint exhibition for Claude and François-Xavier, titled "Zoophite," took place in 1964 at the J. Gallery. They revealed their creations — hybrids of sculptures and everyday objects. In 1966, they introduced themselves under the name Les Lalanne. 

The two artists each created their own works but shared a common universe inspired by the animal and plant world and often exhibited together.

François-Xavier invented a bestiary composed of monkeys, rhinos, donkeys, camels, toads, hippos and cats. Among them, the sheep was undoubtedly his favorite animal. Alone or in a flock, with or without a head, sheathed in the fleece of sheep or not, his sheep sculptures can also constitute seats. His will, shared by Claude, was to desacralize the sculpture to give it a familiar dimension.

François-Xavier is also known for his public commissions. For example, in France he created two concrete pigeons in the city of Grande-Borne in Grigny, and Les Pleureuses (“The Mourners”) is a monumental fountain created in 1986 by François-Xavier and Claude that was installed at the Hakone Open-Air Museum in Japan. 

In 1968, François-Xavier was made a Knight of Arts and Letters. His works have been acquired by great collectors such as Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, the Rothschilds and Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles. The work of Les Lalanne is exhibited throughout the world, presented in both galleries and museums. The retrospective organized in 2010 by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is one of the last major exhibitions of the duo. After a long career, François-Xavier died in 2008 in Ury.

Find authentic François-Xavier Lalanne sculptures, prints and other art and furniture on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Bailly Gallery Geneva-Paris)

Historic Italian design brand Paradisoterrestre was conceived in the late Seventies by eclectic and subversive Dino Gavina (1922 – 2007) and relaunched in 2017 by Gherardo Tonelli. In its new course Paradisoterrestre presents a catalogue ranging ranging from re-editions of historical pieces - designed among the others by Roberto Matta, Kazuhide Takahama and Man Ray - to new collections in collaboration with designers and artists such as Pierre Gonalons, Tobia Scarpa, Paola Pivi and Allen Jones. Paradisoterrestre offers also a curated selection of vintage collectible design and artworks realized by great masters among which Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Ignazio Gardella, Vico Magistretti, Enzo Mari, Carlo Scarpa, Tobia Scarpa, Kazuhide Takahama, Augusto Betti, Alberto Biasi, Roberto Matta, ... In 2018 Paradisoterrestre opened its gallery in Bologna, a hybrid space between art and design, where major exhibitions took place: ULTRAMATTA - Roberto Matta's amazing adventure in the world of design (2019), TOBIA SCARPA - Dall’arte della misura silenziosamente (2020), Paola Pivi - Rock the art (2021), Augusto Betti - Trasversale • Pulsazione • Ritmo (2022) and Cento % Dino (2022).