A year on from their collaborative chair sculpture, French artist Jean Jullien and Case Studyo are back with another (functional) edition called La Baleine (The Whale). Playing in line with his whimsical two-dimensional illustrations, the porcelain artwork features a cheerful blue whale with a scribbly hand-drawn vibe with an open blow-hole that can hold pens, colored pencils, flowers or whatever else that comes to mind.
For Jullien, who frequently paints animals and scenes associated to the beach, the whale represents a symbol of grace, grandeur and unbounded creativity. The hybrid sculpture was made to play on the metaphor of a whale’s blowhole, “an emblem of exhaling and releasing creative energy”, according to Case Studyo, where he invites his collectors to fill the whale with their own personal expression.
Jullien first gained worldwide recognition for his Peace for Paris illustration, following the 2015 Paris attacks. Born in Cholet, just outside of France’s western city of Nantes, the ocean has recurrently played muse for Jullien, emblematic of his recent exhibitions STUDIOLO, Bye Bye Blue and Chut.
Limited to an edition of 500, La Baleine sizes at 12.6 x 5.1 x 2.8 inches and is available to purchase for €160 EUR / $172 USD. Orders will begin shipping starting on Monday, December 18.
