‘Michael Jackson was a nice and shy client’…says Spanish sculptor Xavier Benlloch,who is in Pune,and reveals his association with the King of Pop and Charlie Chaplin,among others.
Artist Xavier Benlloch remembers Michael Jackson a a nice and shy client who would send his manager to look at his work every time before he came to purchase his favourite piece of art work.In Pune for his exhibition,this Ibiza based sculptor and painter spoke about the King of Pop,the Chaplin family and more.”Michael Jackson visited my studio several times before he ordered a giant Peter Pan for Neverland,”recalls Benlloch who also made a custommade bronze sculpture of Charlie Chaplin for the Chaplin home in Los Angeles.Jackson preferred more of Benlloch’s cartoon sculptures while the Chaplins picked from the collection of his realistic art work series.
last painting that Benlloch sold to Jackson before his mysterious death was a small figurine inspired by Betty Boop,an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer and Grim Natwick in the 1930s.Other than having Chaplin and Jackson as his clients,Benlloch boasts of a long list of Hollywood stars in his buyers’ list which he did not like disclosing.
“Celebrities are very normal people.They are fond of art,have taste and are culturally sensible,” he explains.However,Benlloch seldom likes to reveal “personal things about his clients.”
“When Jackson bought my works of art, he fell in love with them which is a matter of the heart.It had nothing to do with the celebrity status he had with him,” he quips.Apart from Hollywood celebs,Benlloch caters to a host of clients including designers,architects and other art lovers. “I share a very close,creative and loyal relation with all of them,” he adds.In the short span of time that he will spend in the neighbouring city, Benlloch wishes to capture “all the art from every corner.”
77-82/100 photos of Michael Jackson
“Over the years we became a family,all of us.You are my family…My children are your children and all the children of the world are our children and our responsibility.
