Created in 2000, patinated bronze, signed FOLON to base, edition number 13/50, with BRONZE ROMAIN BARELIER foundry stamp.

15 1/4 x 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 in.

Born in Uccle, near Brussels, Jean-Michel Folon, was a prolific Belgian illustrator, painter, printmaker, and sculptor, creating works often with complex themes of modernization and humanity.

After early studies in art school in Brussels, Folon moved to Paris and then to New York in 1960, where his drawings were first published by Esquire, Horizon and The New Yorker, and later by Time, Fortune, Graphis and Atlantic Monthly. He was also known for his illustrations for Kafka, Lewis Carroll, Ray Bradbury, and Jacques Prévert.

Folon had his first solo exhibition in New York at the Lefebre Gallery, followed by his first exhibition in Italy, at Gino Ghiringhelli’s Galleria del Milione in Milan (1970), and numerous exhibitions thereafter in many major international cities. In the early 1990s, when he was known the world over for his posters and paintings, Folon started to direct all of his energy towards statuary. He would go on to produce some 400 sculptures in bronze and stone, Their frontality draws inspiration from the ancient art of the Cyclades and the Etruscans, as well as from African masks and Native American totems. Largely focused on the human form, his sculptures embody themes that he had formerly treated graphically, and thus project the artist’s universe into natural environments: landscapes, gardens and parks.

Folon created many large public commissions, including mural works for the French pavilion at the Milan Triennial (1968), Waterloo Station in London (1974), Porte d’Italie in Paris (1985), and murals in Milan and Rome for SNAM (1998). His large his sculpture La ville en marche was installed in the park of Château Saint Georges, Brussels (2001).

Other creative pursuits include designing opera sets; animation and short film works; designing large scale Aubusson tapestries modeled after his work; and completing various designs for stained glass windows.

In 2005, a major anthological exhibition of two hundred thirty-seven works, ‘Folon Firenze,’ was held at the Forte di Belvedere and Sala d’arme of the Palazzo Vecchio in Firenze.

We would like to thank Fondation Folon for their assistance with cataloging this lot.

Some areas of rubbing to patina, a few wax accretions; overall good estate condition.