MILAN.- The Milan exhibition From Jean Royère to Lucio Fontana at Sotheby’s Milan showcases the best of the 1940s-1960s French Design production together with the Spatialist Milanese artists, led by Lucio Fontana.

From 15th to 19th April 2015, Sotheby’s Milan at Palazzo Broggi, presents a selection of XX Century Decorative items from the Paris Design sale (21st May, 2015) and an overview of works by Fontana, from the Milan Modern & Contemporary Art sale, 20th and 21st May: the selection has been made with specific and evocative criteria.

The Paris Design sale will be focused on Jean Royère’s works.

In 1934, Jean Royère (1902-1981) signed the new layout of the Brasserie Carlton on the Champs Elysées in Paris, achieving an immediate success. This was the beginning of an international career, in which he applied what he had learnt in the cabinetmaking workshops of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris.

Royère, a key figure of the 50’s Avant-garde, pioneered an original style combining bright colours, organic forms and precious materials within a wide range of innovative accomplishments.

Among his patrons were King Farouk, King Hussein of Jordan, and the Shah of Iran, who were fascinated by his freedom of creation and his elegance committing him with the layout of their palaces.

One of the most remarkable Royere’s retrospective was held at the Sonnabend Gallery in New York (2008).

Ileana Sonnabend and Leo Castelli, during their foresight careers, have also been fascinated by the Milan post-war artistic production. This connection has been recently remarked by the Guggenheim exhibition (Venice, 2011): “Ileana Sonnabend: an Italian portrait”.

Jean Royère has always been attracted by the organic elements: the dramatic Eléphanteau armchair, dated 1947, estimated €40.000-60.000, and the pair of Ours Polaire armchairs, dated 1949-50, estimated € 120.000-150.000, are perfect examples of Jean Royère's romantic and artisanal sensibility.

The exhibition offers, from the 1960s production, a pair of Soffleur armchairs (est. €30.000-50.000), whose lines suggest a new concept of volume.

Moreover, the Milanese preview will offers another important example of French Design, the 1928 revolutionary desk chair: Transat (est. € 7.000-9.000) signed by Robert-Mallet Stevens, an innovative Parisian designer who founded, in 1929, the Union des Artistes Modernes (UAM), an antagonist movement to the decorativism of Art Nouveau.

Florent Jeanniard, XX Century Design Specialist at Sotheby’s Paris, commented: “This year Sotheby's is pleased to participate in its own way at the “Salone del Mobile”. It has become an unmissable event for connoisseurs of design and interior decoration. For six days the city is buzzing as editors, gallerists, art dealers and luxury brands descend on the city to take part in this keenly awaited fair. It was therefore the perfect place to bring some of the truly exceptional objects in our 21st May Paris Design sale. It’s the second time Sotheby’s has shown during the fair”.

Raphaelle Blanga, Head of Modern & Contemporary Art Department, Sotheby’s Milan, said: “The Milan exhibition will offer a special opportunity of dialogue between the French design production, from 1949 to the 1960s, and the Milanese Spatialism. We are glad to present a suggestive overview of Lucio Fontana’s production, offering a selection of his not usual works from the 1940s to the 1960s”.

Among the works shown in the exhibition, besides the Ceramics of the Forties, there are three Concetti Spaziali, made between 1960-1964, realized with sophisticated colours such as fuchsia (fig. 1, p. 1, Concetto Spaziale, 1964, est. € 500.000-700.000), orange (Concetto Spaziale, Attese, 1963, est. € 500.000-700.000) and intense green (Concetto Spaziale, Attese, 1961, est. € 600.000-800.000).

Further items from the Milan show: 3 works signed by the duo Les Lalanne, dating from the early 1970s, 4 Apple Honey Chairs (1985) designed by Shiro Kuramata (est. € 8.000-12.000), Yellow Piece of Furniture - Mobile Giallo by Ettore Sottass, 1988 (est. € 8.000-12.000), a Piccolo Albero- Book Case - 1991- by Andrea Branzi ( est. € 25.000-30.000) and amongst the most recent lots a Set of 4 stools by Zaha Hadid, dated 2006 (est. € 10.000-15.000).