Lalan network, cultural association in Bormes-les-Mimosas
and Le Lavandou on the French Riviera

The birth of the "Réseau Lalan" is tied up with the meeting of two extraordinary characters: Lalan and Marcel Van Thienen. This artist couple, with a national and international reputation, shared their time between Paris and their two studios in Bormes…

Lalan was a complete artist
Pioneering and passionate. After training in Fine Arts in Hangzhou, in 1948 she set up in Paris with her first husband Zao Wou-Ki. It was in 1954 that she met Marcel Van Thienen, a sculptor and musician whom she married in 1956. Tragically, she died in 1995. Painter, dancer, musician, choreographer, and poet, her immense talent was recognized by the greatest in the world of the arts (Ionesco, Chirac, Michaux, etc.). A very fine homage of 200 pages was devoted to her by Jean-Michel Beurdeley.

Founded in 1995
The Lalan Network is an association which has the goal of encouraging cultural exchange and promoting art in all its forms. The first President was the sculptor and musician Marcel Van Thienen (Lalan's second husband), and then, since 1998, it has been presided by Raphael Dupouy, an independent photographer; it has already mounted exhibitions of more than 80 artists (painters, photographers, plastic artists, sculptors, poets, writers, and musicians). to its name: " Bol d'Art" a contemporary art show, Portraits of Artists by Denice Colomb, Kenneth White (Prix Médicis), Radiguet, and Cocteau, etc...

The cultural roots of Le Lavandou
The Lalan Network works towards the enhancement of the well-known rich cultural past of Le Lavandou. Since the neo-impressionist Henri-Edmond Cross in 1892, numerous painters, writers and musicians have stayed in Le Lavandou: Théo Van Rysselberghe, Paul Signac, Maurice Utrillo, Auguste Renoir, Ernest Reyer, Nicolas de Staël, André Gide, Jean Cocteau, Paul Valery, Joseph Kessel, and so on … several tours and art shows help you to discover this Le Lavandou of the painters and writers.

Network initiatives :
Nearly 90 artists were exhibited or introduced on the Lavandou and Bormes-les-Mimosas seaside for the occasion of the very renowned Bol d’Art, the demonstration of contemporary art, the literary meetings and artistic evenings.

The Network activities

Among the many activities organized by the Réseau Lalaninclude the "Bol d'Art", exhibition of contemporary art,literary readings and evenings reading of solo and group exhibitions (photography, painting, etc.); conferences (Kenneth White, Price Medici abroad, etc.), writing workshops, symposia (Tribute to André Gide, Jean Cocteau and to Raymond Radiguet, etc.); homage to great painters (Courmes Van Rysselberghe, Cross, Bénézit , Peski, Russia's La Favière, Troina, etc.) with publishing books and catalogs.
To publicize its activities beyond the boundaries of the county and region, "Network Lalan" regularly publishes a journal: "Open Figure. This communication tool allows the association to maintain a network of increasingly important to promote its region by giving it a cultural image, modern and ambitious.

For several years, "Lalan network" is also working on upgrading Richemer misunderstood cultural past of the resort "Bormeo lavandouraine". Since the Neo-Impressionist Henri-Edmond Cross in 1891, many painters, writers and musicians have indeed been on his coast: Theo Van Rysselberghe, Paul Signac, Maurice Utrillo, Auguste Renoir, Ernest Reyer, Nicolas de Staël, André Gide, Jean Cocteau, Raymond Radiguet, Paul Morand, Paul Valéry, Marie Laurencin, Emil-Alfons Reinhardt, Bertolt Brecht, Thomas Mann, Joseph Kessel, Jean Anouilh, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Tristan Tzara, Henri Michaux, Alfred Courmes, etc. The newspaper Figure Libre regularly presents various aspects of this investigation. Exhibition at the Espace Van Thienen Cultural Lavandou from July 7 to September 15, 2010.

Exhibitions retrospective Henri-Edmond CROSS Ernest REYER Michel DUFRESNE Alain SUBY Robert DOISNEAU Henri SALVADOR Franck HORVAT Vintage postcards French Riviera Celebrities Christmas in Provence