Published: 06-05-2010
Alongside the traditional Monte Carlo prestige sale of jewellery and vintage timepieces, Artcurial Briest-Poulain-F.Tajan will also be staging another eye-catching event, with the auction of a technological and aesthetic bijou the RAL 5015 boat.
This monochrome nautical sculpture – a brand new work by artist Xavier Veilhan,completed this year in collaboration with the prestigious Frauscher shipyard – combines art and technical prowess in an amazing boat that will be unveiled for the first time at the Hôtel Marcel-Dassault in Paris from 27 May - June 1 2010.
This exceptional project marks the first time for Xavier Veilhan has been invited to design a functional object in sync with his aesthetic beliefs.
The unique design corresponds perfectly to Xavier Veilhan’s approach to movement and means of transport – from the horse to more sophisticated types of craft… such as this motor-boat!
Xavier Veilhan was born in 1963, and lives and works in Paris. He emerged in the early 1990s and swiftly established himself as one of the leading artists of his generation. A string of exhibitions, showcasing every aspect of his unique plastic vocabulary, ensured his international fame. His work takes a variety of forms – from sculpture to painting via photography, installations, film and live performance. All these different approaches converge to create a world whose breadth and scope derives from a powerful relationship with history and a profound reflection on modern life.
Xavier Veilhan working on the RAL 5015 (photo : Tony Regazzoni)
Xavier reappraises the history of statuary and exploits family themes with creature archetypes (lions, bears, horses, penguins, rhinos, sharks), portraits and effigies. He is concerned both with the question of perception (ghostly landscapes, light machines, lithophanies) and with vehicles (bicycles, automobiles, airships, boats, not forgetting the carriage he made for his exhibition at the Château of Versailles in 2009).
This interest in transport (from the horse to contemporary vehicles via Amish carts) is linked to his idea of dynamics – and apparent wish to analyze or retranscribe movement. This explains why he often refers to the 19th century chronophotographs of Muybridge and Marey, and to Italian Futurism and 20th century kinetic art.
— I love cars, boats, skiing, biking, planes… as a means of opening up a different, dynamic vision, with which the eye is physically associated admits Veilhan.
His Furtivo project in 2008 – a two-part exhibition at the Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Paris, then at the Pinacoteca Giovanni & Marella Agnelli in Turin – provided a masterly illustration of this, featuring a monumental 5-metre shark sculpture, and a film shot partly on board Gianni Agnelli’s black carbon yacht Stealth.
Xavier Veilhan has long accepted the idea of joint productions, working with other creators (like Sébastien Tellier or musicians from the group Air) and companies involved in cutting-edge technology. Collaborating with the Frauscher shipyard is entirely consistent with his approach.
The savoir-faire of the Frauscher shipyard means Xavier Veilhan’s RAL 5015 is a high-performance boat featuring the latest in nautical technology.
RAL 5015 in its glass box (image : Vincent Germond)
The Frauscher shipyard in Gmuden (Austria) has an eventful history dating back over 80 years, and is renowned throughout the world for its excellent craftsmanship – and for pioneering electric boats.After fleeing Austria during the Second World War, Engelbert Frauscher returned to his native region to find his shipyard had been bombed. Nonetheless, the nautical base created by the Americans on the Traunsee (the deepest lake in Austria, and one of the largest) remained much frequented by soldiers using wooden boats.
Engelbert Frauscher’s entrepreneurial spirit was kindled, and he decided to start up activity again and conquer this new market.
Over the next few years Engelbert built a whole range of motor boats and yachts, and his two sons, Ernst and Hans, soon joined as part of his team.
The potential of two generations of Frauschers was swiftly apparent: a boatshed and marina were constructed, new boats designed, and a school created. Finally, in the 1970s, a new manufacturing unit was opened in Gschwandt.
The next decade saw widespread recognition for the sporting achievements of Frauscher boats: their H-Yachts won numerous regattas, and the founder’s grandsons, Andrea & Stefan Frauscher, who took over the reins of the firm in the 1990s, earned a world championship title.
Today Frauscher’s fifty employees lavish care and attention on the 100 yachts which leave their yard every year for seas all over the world. Frauscher are present in 14 countries, and their yachts sold from the United States to Korea via Italy and Russia… though not yet in France!
XAVIER VEILHAN RAL 5015 Technical Data:
Length — 6.90m
Width — 2.20m
Water-level — 6.40m
Visible height above water — 1.25m
Draught — 0.65/1.00m
Dry weight — 1700kg
Tank capacity — 157 litres
Maximum speed — 40 knots
Cruising speed — 25 knots
Engine — MERCRUISER Output 220 HP
Cubic capacity — 4.3 l MPI, 220 PS; Alpha 1
Number of persons — 8 max.
RAL 5015 Viewing:
Paris, Hôtel Marcel-Dassault: May 27 – June 1
Monte Carlo – July 15-20
Press Conference:
Paris, Hôtel Marcel-Dassault — 27 May at 9:30am in the presence of Xavier Veilhan & the RAL5015
RAL 5015 Auction:
date — 20 July 2010 at 8pm
venue — Hôtel Hermitage, Monte Carlo
auctioneer — François Tajan
estimate: — €180,000-200,000