Francois-Xavier Lalanne

François-Xavier Lalanne was born in Agen in 1927. After a schooling among the Jesuits, he went to Paris to study painting, drawing and sculpture and will thus discover many artists of surrealism like & nbsp; Max Ernst or Marcel Duchamp. But this Parisian experience will also allow him to rub shoulders with Brancusi, Dali or Magritte. These frequentations and meetings will have a significant influence on its artistic approach. Acute its arouses little interest in the artistic sphere, and in 1950 it made store decorations. & Nbsp; it will in particular decorate the new Parisian store of Dior located avenue Montaigne . A decor developed with the young assistant Yves Saint Laurent, who will later become a fervent admirer. Then large collectors such as the Rothschilds will look at his works and see in him a great artist. In 1956, the meeting with & nbsp; Claude Dupeux, will give a new impetus to his career. Both marry and then start to work under the name the Lalanne. Their first exhibition will take place at Galerie J. in Paris and will be one of their first success. This exhibition will notably present a rhinoceros housing an office. This will mark the start of the current led by the two artists mixing sculptures and furniture. Throughout his career, he will incorporate animals into the furniture he draws. Unique and representative furniture of decorative art such as the Sardine-Canapé box or the sheep usable as a chair. One of the artist's wishes being to combine the beautiful to the useful and to appropriate art because as the designer mentioned "when you can sit on a work, it becomes more familiar".