above: Jaime Hayon's Clown lamp for Lladro.
I've been known to describe my own personal hell as having to spend eternity in a room decorated with LeRoy Neiman paintings and Lladro sculptures, as Dixieland music plays and I am made to to eat Ambrosia Fruit Salad.
above left: Ambrosia Fruit Salad, right: LeRoy Neiman's Tiger
But every once in awhile I am forced to reevaluate my own strongly stated opinions. Lladro's 2007 spring collection has me rethinking my previously formed opinion of this highly popular, ridiculously overpriced line of decorative figurines.
Below is a picture of Lladro's "A Grand Adventure", priced at $34,000.00
Now, don't get me wrong. I still can't stand the majority of their muted-colored elongated people frozen in sappy moments illustrating bygone stereotypes of professions and family roles. While I can respect the craftsmanship, I simply can't stand neither the style nor the subject of their 'collectibles'. You'd actually have to pay me MORE than the price tag to display their $34,000 "A Grand Adventure" train scene in my home.
But Bodo Sperlein's Re-cyclos Collection, new this spring, is not the Lladro I grew to know and hate. (By the way, Bodo Sperlein designed the ever-popular omnipresent blog favorite Red Berry China Collection, some pieces of which can be seen below):
The Lladro 2007 Re-cyclos Collection, to be released this Spring, is created in porcelain with matte white and/or black finishes. The pieces are fundamentally modern in their design and are functional as opposed to decorative. The bottle stoppers, hanging lights, wall sconces, bud vases, jewelry and candle holders are sensuous in form and feel, and frankly (dare I say it) attractive.
Don't believe me? See for yourself:
above: bird ring from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
above: candle holder from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
above: Buddha HeadII from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
above: Winged wall sconce from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
above: Butterfly chandelier from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
above: Bird cuff links, porcelain and sterling silver, from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
above: Flower tapestry bud vase from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
above: Butterfly pendant lamp from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
above: Open necklace, 18k over sterling and porcelain, from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
above: Bacchus Ram bottle stopper from Lladro's 2007 spring collection
So, I guess from this day forth I will have to describe my own personal hell as being forced to eat Ambrosia Fruit Salad while listening to Dixieland, held captive in a room decorated with LeRoy Neiman Paintings and.... Hummel Figurine
UPDATE:
Since this post, Lladro has continued to contemporize their line with the RE: Deco line and wonderful works by Jaime Hayon and other contemporary sculptors and designers:
Visit the entire collection of Lladro here.