Michael Bastow (1943) - Telechat





€101 | ||
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€98 | ||
€95 | ||
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Description from the seller
Michael Bastow (1943) – Happy Birthday Henri | Unique ink work | Erotic parody of Téléchat characters | Dedicated to Henri Xhonneux
Artist: Michael Bastow ( 1943 )
Dimensions: 65 x 50 cm
Sold unframed
Technique: Unique ink work on textured paper (brush application)
Signature: Signed by the artist at the bottom right + dedication “happy birthday Henri” at the bottom left
Provenance: Anne de Clippel Collection, Brussels
Condition: There are two light horizontal creases. These will be invisible once framed by you.
Description:
Unique and particularly personal work created by Michael Bastow for his friend Henri Xhonneux, creator and director of the cult program Téléchat (1983-1986).
This large ink composition explicitly erotically and surrealistically parodies the two main Téléchat characters: Groucha, the journalist cat, and Lola, the ostrich co-presenter. The two anthropomorphic figures are here transformed into a dynamic and crude scene, in a spirit that is both humorous and grotesque, characteristic of the Parisian art circle of the 1980s.
The sheet bears in the bottom left the handwritten dedication “happy birthday Henri.” It is signed by the artist at the bottom right.
The verso of the work reveals a full ghost of the composition, a sign of heavily loaded ink applied on a beautiful textured paper.
Provenance: Anne de Clippel Collection, Brussels.
Context and friendship between the two artists:
In the 1980s, Michael Bastow settled in Paris and quickly joined the vibrant art scene led by Roland Topor and the Téléchat team. His partner of the time was the sister of Henri Xhonneux’s partner. The two men frequented each other and shared the same creative circle. This work, made in one go, is a private birthday gift, both conspiratorial, irreverent, and deeply personal.
Biography of Michael Bastow:
Michael Bastow was born in 1943 in Bideford (England). As a child, he emigrated with his family to Australia. He studied architecture at the University of Melbourne before working as a production designer in the film industry.
From the late 1970s, he devoted himself fully to drawing and painting. Based in Paris in the early 1980s, he developed a body of work focused on sensual female nudity, which he mainly treated with pastel and charcoal on high-quality papers.
Close to Roland Topor, he participated in the Parisian art life of that period while maintaining a personal and intimate production. His work is present in several private collections in Europe and Australia.
Technique: Unique ink work on textured paper (brush application)
Signature: Signed by the artist at the bottom right + dedication “happy birthday Henri” at the bottom left
Provenance: Anne de Clippel Collection, Brussels
Condition: There are two light horizontal creases. These will be invisible once framed by you.
Seller's Story
Michael Bastow (1943) – Happy Birthday Henri | Unique ink work | Erotic parody of Téléchat characters | Dedicated to Henri Xhonneux
Artist: Michael Bastow ( 1943 )
Dimensions: 65 x 50 cm
Sold unframed
Technique: Unique ink work on textured paper (brush application)
Signature: Signed by the artist at the bottom right + dedication “happy birthday Henri” at the bottom left
Provenance: Anne de Clippel Collection, Brussels
Condition: There are two light horizontal creases. These will be invisible once framed by you.
Description:
Unique and particularly personal work created by Michael Bastow for his friend Henri Xhonneux, creator and director of the cult program Téléchat (1983-1986).
This large ink composition explicitly erotically and surrealistically parodies the two main Téléchat characters: Groucha, the journalist cat, and Lola, the ostrich co-presenter. The two anthropomorphic figures are here transformed into a dynamic and crude scene, in a spirit that is both humorous and grotesque, characteristic of the Parisian art circle of the 1980s.
The sheet bears in the bottom left the handwritten dedication “happy birthday Henri.” It is signed by the artist at the bottom right.
The verso of the work reveals a full ghost of the composition, a sign of heavily loaded ink applied on a beautiful textured paper.
Provenance: Anne de Clippel Collection, Brussels.
Context and friendship between the two artists:
In the 1980s, Michael Bastow settled in Paris and quickly joined the vibrant art scene led by Roland Topor and the Téléchat team. His partner of the time was the sister of Henri Xhonneux’s partner. The two men frequented each other and shared the same creative circle. This work, made in one go, is a private birthday gift, both conspiratorial, irreverent, and deeply personal.
Biography of Michael Bastow:
Michael Bastow was born in 1943 in Bideford (England). As a child, he emigrated with his family to Australia. He studied architecture at the University of Melbourne before working as a production designer in the film industry.
From the late 1970s, he devoted himself fully to drawing and painting. Based in Paris in the early 1980s, he developed a body of work focused on sensual female nudity, which he mainly treated with pastel and charcoal on high-quality papers.
Close to Roland Topor, he participated in the Parisian art life of that period while maintaining a personal and intimate production. His work is present in several private collections in Europe and Australia.
Technique: Unique ink work on textured paper (brush application)
Signature: Signed by the artist at the bottom right + dedication “happy birthday Henri” at the bottom left
Provenance: Anne de Clippel Collection, Brussels
Condition: There are two light horizontal creases. These will be invisible once framed by you.

