biography
Nothing about his childhood suggested that Raphaël Lonné would be destined to draw. Born in the Landes region of France in 1910 to a family of sharecroppers, he stopped school at the age of 8 to work the land. Later on, he was successively a tramway conductor, a concierge-chauffeur, a handyman at the children’s hospital and then, after the war, a postman. Though he always showed an interest in music, he never dreamt of being a sketch artist.
It was only in 1950, during an improvised spiritualist meeting at the house of some friends, that he produced his first work: with only a pencil and a piece of paper for the purpose of receiving any messages that might arrive from beyond, “[he] suddenly left, like thunder, to scribble.” No other session took place, but Lonné, alone, continued to draw at night, concentrating to enter into contact with the spirits who guided “the movement of [his] hand.” These impressive, spontaneous creations, covered in curves and delicate arabesques, a lightness bordering on joy, reveal some forms, women, animals, dog heads, birds... even if Lonné himself couldn’t really put a name to the whims of his pencil.
Discovered by Jean Dubuffet in 1963, and well-established in this family of artists dear to art brut enthusiasts, the spiritualists, Lonné has always refused to sell his works, vowing to not profit from them. Today, these productions, now art brut classics, are being amply shown.
selective exhibitions
drawing now art fair, le carreau du temple, paris, from march 28th to 31st, 2019.
au delà : aux confins du visible et de l'invisible, christian berst art brut, paris, from march 7th to april 13th, 2019.
drawing now art fair, le carreau du temple, from march 22th to 25th 2018.
art brut: a history of individual mythologies, curator: christian berst, oliva creative factory, sao joao da madeira, june 18th, 2016 - february 26th, 2017.
art brut : breaking the boundaries, treger-saint silvestre collection, from june 1st to september 11th, 2014 curator : christian berst, olivia creative factory, sao joao da madeira, porto.
beyond the boundaries 2012, christian berst art brut gallery, september 8th - october 13th, 2012.
amicalement brut: collection eternod & mermod, musée d'art moderne lille métropole, villeneuve d'ascq, 9 april - 28 august 2011.
inner worlds outside, travelling exhibition, la caixa foundation, madrid; whitechapel gallery, london; irish museum of modern art, dublin, 2006.
art spirite, médiumnique et visionnaire, messages d'outre monde, halle saint pierre, paris, september 13th, 1999 - february 27th, 2000.
selective bibliography
gewächse der seele : floral fantasies between symbolism and outsider art, hantje cantz, ludwigshafen, 2019.
exhibition catalog, au delà : aux confins du visible et de l'invisible, christian berst art brut ed, paris, 2019.
l'art brut, martine lusardy, citadelles & mazenod, paris, 2018.
art brut : la pulsion creativa al desnudo, graciela garcia, sans soleil ed., vitoria-gasteiz, 2018.
art brut collection ABCD, exhibition catalogue (la maison rouge, 10.18.2014 - 01.18.2015), texts written by barbara safarova, christiane cuticchio and conversation between bruno decharme, antoine de galbert and paula aisemberg, paris, éditions fage, la maison rouge, 2014.
séminaire sur l’art brut. actes 1: de quoi parle l'art brut ?, under the direction of barbara safarova, bresson, abcd.www.abcd-artbrut.net, 2012.
lucienne peiry, collection de l’art brut. lausanne, co-edition collection de l'art brut et skira-flammarion, paris, 2012.
art brut, outsider, modeste, revue 303, la revue culturelle des pays de la loire, n°119, 2012.
l'aracine & l'art brut, les chemins de l'art brut (8), exhibition catalogue (24/09- 15/12/2009, colbert gallery, INHA, paris; 19/01-26/02/2010, les 3 lacs gallery, lille 3, villeneuve d'ascq), lille, lam, 2009.
david maclagan, outsider art, from the margins to the marketplace, london, reaktion books, 2009.
outsider art, source book, art brut, folk art, outsider art, raw vision ltd, 2009.
the message, art and occultism, claudia dichter et al., cologne, walther könig ed., 2007.
raphaël lonné, dibujos, texts by juan miguel hernandez leon, josette rasle and christian delacampagne, madrid, circulo de bellas artes, 2007.
art brut, collection abcd, exhibition catalogue ("art brut, sbirka abcd" at the prague city gallery, june 14th juin -10 septembre 2006), abcd ed., 2006.
laurent danchin, l’art brut, l’instinct créateur, paris, découverte gallimard, 2006.
à corps perdu, ABCD, une collection de l’art brut, catalogue d'exposition (paris, pavillon des arts, april 30th - september 26th, 2004), paris, paris musées, 2004.
john maizels, l’art brut, l’art outsider et au-delà, paris, phaidon, 2003.
colin rhodes, l’art outsider, art brut et création hors normes au XXe siècle, paris, thames & hudson ed., coll. "l’univers de l’art", 2001.
madeleine lommel, “raw classics : raphaël lonné”, in raw vision n° 35, 2001.
abcd une collection d’art brut, arles, actes sud / [paris] ABCD, 2000.
art spirite, médiumnique et visionnaire : messages d’outre-monde, texts by martine lusardy, michel thévoz, roger cardinal, laurent danchin, etc., exhibition catalogue (september 13th, 1999 – february 27th, 2000, halle saint pierre), paris, hoëbeke, 1999.
art brut, collection de l'aracine, exhibition catalogue (february 2nd - july 14th, 1997), musée d'art moderne, communauté urbaine de lille-villeneuve d'ascq, 1997.
laurent danchin, art brut et compagnie, la face cachée de l’art contemporain, paris, la différence, 1995.
roger cardinal, "european mediumistic art in the outsider domain, the art of entrancement" in raw vision n°2, 1989.
les singuliers de l'art, des inspirés aux habitants paysagistes, arc2, musée d'art moderne de la ville de paris, exhibition catalogue, 1978.
josé pierre, “raphaël lonné et le retour des médiums” in l’œil, n°216, 1972.
michel thévoz, l’art brut, geneva, skira, 1975.
catalogue de la collection de l'art brut, paris, publications de la collection de l'art brut, 1971.
l’art brut, exhibition catalogue (musée des arts décoratifs, april 7th - june 5th, 1967), text by jean dubuffet (place à l’incivisme), paris, compagnie de l’art brut & union centrale des arts décoratifs, 1967.
jean dubuffet, "le facteur lonné » in fascicule de l’art brut n°1, paris, compagnie de l’art brut, 1964.
selective collections
- collection de l'Art brut, Lausanne (Switzerland)
- LaM, musée d'art moderne, d'art contemporain et d'art brut de Lille Métropole, Villeneuve d'Ascq (France)
- The Musgrave Kinley Outsider Art Collection, Manchester (Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
- American Folk Art Museum, New-York (United States)
- abcd collection, montreuil (France)
- Treger Saint Silvestre collection, Porto (Portugal)
