Pierre Lèbe (1929 - 2008) and Claire Debril (1927-2021). - Lot 125

Biography

Born Pierre-Jacques Lèbe, in Tonneins, on October 28, 1929, Pierre Lèbe is a complete multidisciplinary artist, humble and extremely rigorous in his work. He is also and above all a lover of nature and Japan, the main sources of his inspiration.

He trained in Paris, attending the École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers d'Arts from 1949 to 1952, where he studied under Pierre Fouquet. The following year, he entered the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs to study sculpture.

He became an art teacher, painter, sculptor, designer and ceramist. In 1963, he tried his hand at stoneware alongside Jean & Jacqueline Lerat, Yves & Monique Mohy, Robert Deblander and other renowned potters who later became his friends. The material quickly became his preferred medium, and in the late 1960s he exhibited his work alongside Robert Deblander, Elisabeth Joulia and the couple Norbert and Jeanne Pierlot.

The many facets of his work can be seen in the various Salons des Artistes Décorateurs (SAD) in which he took part in 1963, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1975 and 1977. In mid-1964, he began a long and fruitful collaboration with Galerie MAI. His stoneware, wall panels and slate-topped coffee tables now feature in the showcase at 12 rue Bonaparte in Paris. In December 1966, the gallery gave him his first solo show, followed by a second in 1974.

His fields of expertise are varied. In addition to stoneware and sculpture, he creates tapestry projects, the cartoons for which are woven in Aubusson at the prestigious Legoueix, Pinton and Annie Clochard workshops. From the early 1970s, he also worked on a variety of decorative and architectural projects, creating wall panels, sculptures and claustras (for faculties, administrative buildings, high schools, school groups and churches). And last but not least, he designs urban and living-room furniture (benches, chairs)...

Around 1968, the Virebent porcelain factory asked him to create utilitarian pieces and porcelain tableware. He accepted and created a substantial number of models, gaining a certain notoriety with the general public.

In December 1972, in an article published in the 144th issue of the magazine "La céramique Moderne", the potter Bernard Courcoul wrote of him that he occupied "one of the very first places among French stoneware potters".

From the 1970s to the early 1990s, he worked on a number of architectural projects, without abandoning his other practices.

In 2008, a few months before passing away, Pierre Lèbe decided to bequeath some 80 of his pieces to the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Agen, in order to leave, as he himself humbly wrote, "the trace of a man's life, of a contemporary and honest creative existence, if not brilliant, at least personal and perhaps original". Representative of a lifetime's work, Pierre Lèbe's donation to the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Agen is the first collection of works to bring together all the periods and facets of this artist's oeuvre. In this sale, we present some of his work, directly from his studio, ranging from sculpture to pottery, tapestry and graphic arts, as well as a number of research objects, studies and models for architectural projects, spanning several decades of creation...

The pieces in this sale have all been kept by Pierre Lèbe as part of his personal collection.

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