This fall, Di Donna Galleries will mount a major exhibition of more than 50 paintings, works on paper, and sculptures by René Magritte and Les Lalannes in New York in collaboration with the London-based gallery Ben Brown Fine Arts.Opening on October 8, “Magritte and Les Lalanne: In the Mind’s Garden” will feature rare loans of paintings by the Belgian Surrealist in dialogue with works from the estate of French sculptors François-Xavier Lalanne and Claude Lalanne.“A show like this have never been done,” gallerist Emmanuel Di Donna told ARTnews. “With a project like this, where it’s something new, it’s something that’s relevant, and I think that’s something that’s going to be very poetic. I think together, those works will sing together.”In addition to all three artists’ shared sensibility—through a surreal and poetic transformation of the natural world—they were concurrently championed and represented by the legendary gallerist Alexander Iolas in the 1960s. Di Donna told ARTnews discussions for the exhibition first started late last year, but it was put together “fairly fast” due to access to works from the Lalanne family, Di Donna’s long-term involvement in the market for iconic Surrealist works by the Belgian artist, and important private collectors willing to loan pieces. “I know where most Magrittes are,” he said. “It’s a phone call or a letter, explaining what we’re doing, you know, what the reasoning behind the show is, and showing a few examples of the works that we already have and how well they work together.”Adding, “People always need to see beautiful shows. If they can be part of putting contributing to great show, I think people want to do it.”The gallerist is still working on securing loans of other works in the next few weeks, including ones that have been hidden from public view. “There’s a lot of works that haven’t been seen in museums or anywhere in years,” Di Donna said. “So I’m excited to show some some works by Magritte that are really special and in conversation with those wonderful Lalannes.”François-Xavier Lalanne’s Hippopotame I, 1968/1998, will be featured in the exhibition “Magritte and Les Lalanne: In the Mind’s Garden” at Di Donna Galleries in October 2025.© François-Xavier Lalanne / ADAGP, ParisConfirmed highlights of the exhibition include Magritte’s oil painting L’ami intime (1958), which sold for £33.66 million last March at Christie’s in London; François-Xavier Lalanne’s Hippopotame I (1968/1998), a bright blue 9-foot-long bathtub made of molded polyester resin and brass in the shape of a life-sized hippopotamus; and François-Xavier Lalanne’s “Sauterelle” Bar (1970) made of porcelain, polished brass, and steel in the shape of a large grasshopper which only has two editions.“The scale of it just makes it like, it looks like a UFO,” Di Donna said in reference to the “Sauterelle” Bar. “It’s such an amazing creative object.”Di Donna and Ben Brown have both represented Les Lalannes for several years, knew the French couple and sculptors personally, and observed how their market continues to expand and attract new buyers. René Magritte, Empire of Light, 1954. Courtesy of CHRISTIES IMAGES LTD. 2024“The first show that I did when I opened the gallery in 2011 was a Magritte show,” Di Donna said, noting the catalog cover featured L’empire des lumières (1954), which set a new auction record for the artist when it sold for $121 million at Christie’s 20th century evening sale last November.Interest in works by all three artists continues to be strong even in a sluggish art market. In May, Magritte’s L’empire des lumières (1959) retained its value by selling for $34.9 million with fees at Christies’s single-owner sale for Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works. And last month, Francois-Xavier Lalanne’s life-sized bronze desk Grand Rhinocéros II (2003) sold for $16.422 million with buyer’s premium—well beyond its high estimate of $5 million. It was the top lot at Sotheby’s important design day sale in New York and the artist’s second-highest result at auction.Di Donna also believes the market for Les Lalannes still has room to grow, due to the couple’s unique style and growing number of buyers. “There’s nobody that can compete in terms of quality, and imagery with them,” he said. “When you see those giant hippos or giant gorillas or like the small choupette or, you know, I mean, all those pieces in themselves, very poetic, very beautiful and very charming to live with. And they’re enchanting.”A press release noted the illustrated catalog for “Magritte and Les Lalanne: In the Mind’s Garden” will also contain texts from leading scholars in Surrealism, with a focus on Magritte and Les Lalanne.