Modern & Contemporary Art including Léon Lef Forster Collection sale II - Design
Modern & contemporary art
Hôtel Drouot - Room 6
9, rue Drouot
75009 PARIS
Public exhibitions
Wednesday April 15 from 11:00 to 18:00
Thursday April 16 from 11:00 to 20:00
Friday April 17 from 11:00 to 12:00
ESTAMPES
Sylvie COLLIGNON collignonsylvie@cegetel.net Tel: +33 (0)1 42 96 12 17 Described lots: 1 to 4, 6
XIXth AND MODERN TABLES
Cabinet CHANOIT expertise@chanoit.com + 33 (0)1 47 70 22 33 Has described lots: 18, 23 to 29, 31
Specialist in Contemporary Art
Ugo LEVOYER ulevoyer@mw-encheres.com Tel : +33 (0)6 32 62 89 53
Described lots: 5, 7 to 17, 20 to 22, 30 32 to 308, 319, 322 to 335
ALL LOTS, WITHOUT CONSIDERATION OF WEIGHT, SIZE, PRICE OR METHOD OF ADJUDICATION (Telephone order, Drouot Live, Interenchères and in room) ARE SUBJECT TO DROUOT'S WAREHOUSE CONDITIONS:
-Administration fee per lot: €5 / €10 / €15 / €20 / €25, depending on the nature of the lot*.
-From the 2nd day, storage fees per lot: 1 € / 5 € / 10 € / 15 € / 20 €, depending on the nature of the lot*.
Processing fees are capped at €50 incl. VAT per withdrawal.
A 50% reduction on storage fees is granted to foreign customers and art market professionals in the provinces (upon presentation of proof).
Le Magasinage de L'hôtel Drouot is open Monday to Friday from 1:30 pm to 7:00 pm.
6 bis, rue Rossini - 75009 Paris - France
Tel. +33 (0)1 48 00 20 18
SALE II - Léon-Lef FORSTER Collection: Singular, crude or naive?
A leading criminal lawyer born in 1947, Léon-Lef Forster is renowned for his commitment to the defense of leading political figures and his unwavering support for anti-racist causes. A tenor of the bar and Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, he is also a passionate art collector, cultivating an eclectic and abundant vision of creation. An advocate of sometimes radical forms of expression, he doesn't dwell on artist ratings, fashion or speculation: Léon-Lef Forster buys according to his instinct and desire. Glasses on the tip of his nose, licorice stick screwed to the corner of his mouth, Maître Forster welcomes me to his home, which resembles a twentieth-century cabinet of curiosities. In the large, richly decorated and molded salon, the light from the imposing basket chandelier diffuses through the vaporous scent of tobacco. In this climate of light torpor, visitors are spied by the eyes of the Arts Premiers or Guanyin masks. Carved ivories and other antiques stand on the secretary, mantelpiece and cabinet. On the walls, large drawings by Micha Laury and Hervé Télémaque dialogue with formats by Philippe Pasqua and Agata Siecińska. The ensemble rubs shoulders with a refined selection of 18th-century portraits and a superb canvas from Poussin's studio. "I'm a compulsive collector," he tells me, his eyes bright and laughing. A euphemistic statement, considering that only a tiny part of his collection adorns his apartment. A small Louvre, in fact: a few works on display, the rest hidden from view. The auctioneer's complete inventory would take several days.
Léon-Lef Forster is a lover of contemporary art and curious about discovering new talent, and over the years he has acquired works from both galleries and auctions. He befriended Éric Dupont, founder of the eponymous gallery, and Frédéric Roulette, of Les Singuliers gallery. "Singulière, brut ou naïve": this phrase comes to me spontaneously to describe the spirit of the collection. The expression echoes an emblematic exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris in 1988, which aimed to give a platform to young creators and redefine emerging forms of creation. It featured Mickaël Bethe-Sélassié (1951-2020) and Jaber (19382021), two artists already featured in the collection. This appellation consecrates these currents, without reducing them, and gives them the place they deserve in the history of contemporary art. "There's a very artistic side to my collection," he emphasizes. If, by "artistic", Léon-Lef Forster means profusion, plastic research or that subtle dissonance that grows within us when we fall in love with a work, then yes, this collection is profoundly artistic. It's up to the flâneur, dreamer, collector or art lover to find his or her own coherence.
Ugo LEVOYER