HOMAGE TO JANE HOLZER: ANDY WARHOL AND LES LALANNE

Andy Warhol, Jane Holzer, 1975. Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, 101.6 x 101.6 cm; (40 x 40 in.)

HOMAGE TO JANE HOLZER:

ANDY WARHOL AND LES LALANNE

March 3-13 2022

Ben Brown Fine Arts, 244 Worth Avenue, Palm Beach, Florida 33480

Ben Brown Fine Arts Palm Beach is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition, Homage to Jane Holzer: Andy Warhol and Les Lalanne. It is guest curated by Jane Holzer—aka Baby Jane— a lifelong Palm Beach native, a Warhol muse and a passionate collector of Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne. The exhibition transforms the Worth Avenue gallery with Warhol’s iconic portrait paintings of celebrities and society figures, displayed amongst the wonderful and whimsical sculptures of Les Lalanne.

Nearly a dozen Warhol paintings from the 1970s and 80s are featured, depicting prominent society figures, celebrities, eminent philanthropists, and leaders in business and in the arts. The paintings encapsulate the glamour of Warhol’s muses and their indelible eras. Considered the father of the American Pop Art movement, from the 1960s onward Warhol famously created bold, colorful canvases of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and Elvis. Warhol’s obsession with celebrity, fame and beauty, combined with his unabashed embracing of commercialism, led the artist to begin taking portrait commissions in the 70s and 80s. These largely funded his New York City studio, ‘The Factory’. Capturing his sitters with a Polaroid camera – which he referred to as his pen and paper – Warhol utilized the still images to create vibrantly chromatic paintings employing his innovative process of hand-painting and silk-screening. Amongst the iconic and stylish portraits in the exhibition— some anonymous and others identified by name—are two Jane Holzer portraits from 1975.

Complementing Warhol’s poignant portrait paintings is a room full of fanciful, quintessential furniture and sculptures by legendary French artistic duo Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, often referred to collectively as Les Lalanne. Holzer, an ardent collector of Les Lalanne, forged a deep friendship with them over the years through visits to their home and studio in Ury, France. “Going to visit them was magical,” says Holzer. “Their home, gardens, and courtyard were filled with their beautiful pieces.” The Lalannes’ work defies categorization – it is at once surrealist, classical, contemporary, profound, playful, decorative, and functional. Claude and François-Xavier were the last of a generation of avant-garde artists in Paris, having tales of living next door to Constantin Brâncuși, traveling in the same circles as Alberto Giacometti, René Magritte, and Max Ernst, and working with loyal collectors such as Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé. While Les Lalanne shared a studio and exhibited together throughout their careers, their works are entirely distinctive. Claude’s pieces take on a more sinuous and ethereal form, depicting flora and fauna evocative of the Art Nouveau movement; François-Xavier’s works, often depicting animals, offer a gravity of form and ingenious functionality. Included in the exhibition are François-Xavier’s iconic stone sheep, a playful monkey table, and marble and copper winged Oiseaux chair. Notable works by Claude include an elegant aluminum ginkgo leaf table and chairs, electroplated copper and bronze candelabra, and a petite bronze Bambou chair.

“Meeting Andy Warhol and the Lalannes shaped my life for the better,” says Holzer. “I feel so lucky to have shared in their friendship and in their artistic journeys.”

Jane Holzer and Andy Warhol, 1967 (left). Jane Holzer and Claude Lalanne with Mouton by François-Xavier Lalanne, 2013 (right).

ABOUT JANE HOLZER

Warhol’s first ‘Superstar,’ Jane Holzer was an original member of Andy Warhol’s ‘Factory.’ The two were introduced in 1964 by Nicky Haslam, editor of Show magazine. Warhol asked the captivating Holzer—a fashion model and society fixture— to partake in his film, Soap Opera. Holzer instantly became part of Warhol’s stellar nexus of friends and associates. Upon visiting the ‘Factory,’ she noticed hundreds of canvases spread all over the floor. Warhol was in the midst of painting his Flowers series; Holzer was in the midst of being entranced. She asked where she could buy these striking works and was sent straight to Leo Castelli gallery. At Castelli’s gallery, Holzer fell in love with the work of Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist, Robert Rauschenberg Roy Lichtenstein, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. Whenever she earned a bit of money from modeling and acting gigs, she purchased new paintings from Castelli. Her fervent pursuit of supporting the artists of her time continues to this day.

With her in-depth industry knowledge, Holzer—individually, or partnering with dealers from around the world— has guided others in identifying investment-worthy works of art. In addition to her mark in the art industry, Holzer directs a real estate business spanning New York and Palm Beach. She is also steeped in the film industry, co-producing the award-winning film, Kiss of the Spider Woman, as well as Gimme Shelter, Growing Pains, Spike of Bensonhurst, Naked Tango, Spring Breakers and most recently, Nine Bullets. In 2014, she was the subject of the Norton Museum of Art exhibition, To Jane, Love, Andy: Warhol’s First Superstar.

ABOUT BEN BROWN FINE ARTS

In 2004, Ben Brown Fine Arts opened its first location in the heart of Mayfair, London. The gallery quickly established itself on the international art scene with exhibitions of long-term gallery artists Candida Höfer, Tony Bevan, Claude & François- Xavier Lalanne, and Heinz Mack, amongst others, as well as momentous exhibitions of 20th century masters including Lucio Fontana, Alighiero Boetti and Gerhard Richter. In 2009, Ben Brown Fine Arts opened an exhibition space in Hong Kong, becoming the first international gallery to move to the city that would soon become a major international art hub. In Hong Kong, the gallery introduced notable exhibitions of Pablo Picasso, Sean Scully, Frank Auerbach and Miquel Barceló, as well as survey exhibitions of Chinese contemporary photography, the Düsseldorf School of Photography, 20th century Italian art, and the ZERO movement. Both the London and Hong Kong galleries regularly exhibit and develop programming for our renowned stable of international, multi-disciplinarian artists, including the aforementioned as well as Yoan Capote, Rob and Nick Carter, Kitty Chou, Awol Erizku, Nabil Nahas, José Parlá, Enoc Perez, Ena Swansea, Hank Willis Thomas, Gavin Turk and Jan Worst. Ben Brown Fine Arts is also recognized for our depth of expertise and inventory in 20th century European and American art. Ben Brown Fine Arts participates in major art fairs worldwide, including Art Basel, Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Basel Miami Beach, The Armory Show, Frieze Masters, TEFAF Maastricht, TEFAF New York and West Bund Art & Design.