Claude Lalanne

Commissioned directly from Claude Lalanne in 2013 by the present owner

Pierre Passebon, Jacques Grange, Oeuvres récentes, Paris, 2021, pp. 294-295, illustrated in colour

Claude Lalanne’s Unique Entrelacs Bench exemplifies her delicate mastery of form and her enduring fascination with the natural world. Characterized by intertwined, vine-like structures, the bench blurs the line between sculpture and function, offering a place to sit that feels as though it has grown organically from the earth. The title “entrelacs,” meaning interlace or interweaving, captures the essence of its design: looping botanical motifs twist together in a lyrical rhythm, echoing the tendrils of climbing plants or ornamental garden trellises.

Lalanne’s use of bronze is especially compelling. Though the material is heavy, she renders it with an almost impossible delicacy. Each vine and loop is detailed and sinuous, capturing the ephemeral nature of plants in a medium meant to last centuries. This interplay between fragility and permanence, natural form and human craft, lies at the heart of her work. Lalanne’s creations often draw from flora—leaves, vines, blossoms—rendered in metal with an uncanny softness and grace. The Entrelacs Bench is no exception, inviting the viewer to see beauty in the tension between fragility and permanence. With its sensuous curves and ornamental elegance, the piece feels both ancient and timeless, like a relic of a mythic garden reimagined through a surrealist lens.