Ben Brown & Les Lalanne: A Family Story

2024
Ben Brown Fine Arts
London

A Family Story documents the friendship and working relationship between the Brown family and the artists Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne: a relationship that has spanned many years, trips to their workshop in South-West France, and a series of exhibitions that are detailed in the book.

The design is inspired by this fruitful collaboration and the french concept of Cadavre Exquis, a method by which a collection of images is collectively assembled in sequence. A vertical layout grid translates the concept into a series of ‘transition points’ where images change, typography sequences between different typefaces, and blocks of colour and pattern are overprinted: a dynamic, expressive framework for the Lalanne’s surrealist work. The book is printed large format on bookcloth, with an inset image on the cover and reverse.