On the occasion of the first edition of Maze Design Basel, Mitterrand is pleased to present a selection of works by Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, Roberto Matta and Rob Wynne.
Sheep are among the most emblematic works in François-Xavier Lalanne’s bestiary, and he created several versions, exploring different techniques. The first Moutons de laine appeared in 1965, while the first stone version didn’t appear until 1979. The Moutons transhumants series appeared in 1988, followed by the Nouveaux Moutons series in 1994. The flock exhibited in Basel comprises two Moutons de pierre (1979), three Nouveaux moutons – new sheep - (1994-95), an Agneau – lamb - (1996-97) and a Bélier – ram - (1994-2006).
Claude Lalanne’s Williamsburg garden furniture was created by Claude Lalanne in 1984 at the request of architect Kevin Roche and landscape designer Peter Shepheard, for the Lila Acheson Wallace Garden at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Williamsburg, Virginia. Sponsored by patron Lila Wallace in memory of her husband, the set includes a bench, an armchair and an side chair in poetic forms. The artist went on to create the Tables d’appoint (1985), presented this year at MAZE Design Basel. Each piece in this series subtly incorporates a whistling blackbird, a recurring element in the artist’s work, which disturbs the rigor of the metal with an almost living presence.
Roberto Matta’s two armchairs, functional works of art, are fully in keeping with the spirit of the Ultramobile collection, launched in 1971 by Dino Gavina. Through this visionary initiative, Gavina sought to bring the world of surrealism into dialogue with domestic design, inviting artists and designers to conceive objects that were at once poetic, provocative and usable in everyday life. A true manifesto for the art of living, Ultramobile blurs the boundaries between sculpture and furniture. It was in this context that Margarita was born ; a petrol can, opened like a daisy - to become a throne of tribal allure. It was during this same experimentation that Sacco Alato emerged: a bag of cast concrete, split in two, whose improvised feet - simple building site rocks - underline the tension between brutality and lightness. This sculptural seat carries the search for a balance between free form, raw material and symbolic function.
