{"id":225803,"date":"2025-05-23T14:12:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T14:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.museumtv.art\/artnews\/articles\/niki-de-saint-phalle-23-years-after-her-death\/"},"modified":"2025-05-23T14:13:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T14:13:04","slug":"niki-de-saint-phalle-23-years-after-her-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.museumtv.art\/en\/artnews\/artistes\/niki-de-saint-phalle-23-years-after-her-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Niki de Saint Phalle 23 Years After Her Death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Catherine Marie-Agn\u00e8s <\/span>Fal<\/span> de Saint Phalle <\/span>was<\/span> born<\/span> on <\/span>October<\/span> 29, 1930. Her stage <\/span>name<\/span>, Niki de Saint Phalle, <\/span>comes<\/span> from<\/span> a <\/span>nickname<\/span> given<\/span> to <\/span>her<\/span> by <\/span>her<\/span> mother<\/span>, <\/span>who<\/span> renamed<\/span> her<\/span> “Niki.” <\/span>She<\/span> then<\/span> joined<\/span> her<\/span> parents in the United States, in Greenwich, <\/span>where<\/span> she<\/span> was<\/span> raised<\/span> by a <\/span>nanny<\/span> named<\/span> “Nana.”<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n

In 1994, in <\/span>her<\/span> book <\/span>My<\/span> Secret, <\/span>followed<\/span> by Traces in 1999, <\/span>continuing<\/span> this<\/span> autobiographical<\/span> tradition, the <\/span>artist<\/span> publicly<\/span> revealed<\/span> the <\/span>rape<\/span> she<\/span> suffered<\/span> at the hands of <\/span>her<\/span> father<\/span> at the <\/span>age<\/span> of 11.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Niki de Saint Phalle, Art, an Escape<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n

Niki <\/span><\/a>began<\/span> her<\/span> career<\/span> as <\/span>a<\/span> model <\/span>between<\/span> 1948 and 1950, <\/span>appearing<\/span> for Vogue, <\/span>Harper’s<\/span> Bazaar<\/span>, and <\/span>other<\/span> French and American magazines. <\/span>She<\/span> married<\/span> writer<\/span> Harry Mathews <\/span>during<\/span> this<\/span> same<\/span> period<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n

In 1953, she was forced to interrupt her theater training, which she had begun in 1951, due to severe depression. She was then hospitalized in Nice. This event prompted her to devote herself to art. <\/p>\n\n

After the birth of her second child in 1955, her artistic identity began to truly take shape. She traveled to Madrid and Barcelona, where she discovered the world of Antoni Gaud\u00ed. Her encounter with Jean Tinguely in 1956 allowed her to join the New Realists group a few years later. <\/p>\n\n

The New <\/span>Realists<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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Niki de Saint Phalle, Tir, 1961, plaster, paint, metal and various objects on chipboard, 175 x 80 cm, Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

Under the leadership of Yves Klein and Pierre <\/span>Restany<\/span>, New <\/span>Realism<\/span>, <\/span>already<\/span> present<\/span> in the 1950s, <\/span>was<\/span> the <\/span>subject<\/span> of a joint <\/span>declaration<\/span> in 1960, <\/span>officially<\/span> establishing<\/span> the <\/span>movement<\/span>. This <\/span>declaration<\/span> was<\/span> initially<\/span> signed<\/span> by Yves Klein, Pierre <\/span>Restany<\/span>, Arman, Fran\u00e7ois <\/span>Dufr\u00eane<\/span>, Raymond <\/span>Hains<\/span>, Martial <\/span>Raysse<\/span>, Daniel <\/span>Spoerri<\/span>, Jean Tinguely, and Jacques de la <\/span>Villeg\u00e9<\/span>. C\u00e9sar, <\/span>Mimmo<\/span> Rotella, Niki de Saint Phalle, and G\u00e9rard Deschamps <\/span>joined<\/span> in 1961.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n

The characteristics of this movement include the use of everyday and discarded objects. The idea was to make ordinary objects extraordinary and to give them a second meaning after wear and tear. According to the artists of this movement, this allowed them to question the consumer society that was booming in France and around the world at the time. The notion of performance and artistic gestures is also important. This is what Niki de Saint Phalle, the only woman in this group of artists, implemented in her work <\/span>Tir<\/span> from 1961. To create this work, she organized 12 shooting actions between 1961 and 1962 on her plaster assemblages populated with bags of colors that exploded when shot from a rifle.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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In 1959, the artist became acquainted with American artists such as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. The influence of these artists is mainly found in the way of applying paint and the chromatic range. <\/p>\n

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Robert Rauschenberg, Collection, 1954-1955, fabric, metal, oil, paper, and wood on canvas<\/span> <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

This work shares some similarities, namely the materials used, the chromatic range, and the verticality of the color arrangement, with Niki de Saint Phalle’s composition<\/span> <\/span>Tir<\/span><\/span> (<\/span><\/span>Shooting<\/span><\/span>)<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n

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Willem de <\/span>Kooniing<\/span>, <\/span><\/span>Seated<\/span> Woman<\/span><\/span>, 1940, <\/span>private<\/span> collection<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Niki de Saint Phalle, Elisabeth (Nana), 1965, <\/span>fabric<\/span> glued<\/span> with<\/span> animal skin glue on a structure of <\/span>wire<\/span> mesh<\/span> and <\/span>rebar<\/span>, 230 x 90 x 146 cm, Strasbourg Museum of Modern and <\/span>Contemporary<\/span> Art<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

Here, the bright colors, the theme of women, and her unconventional position echo the artist’s famous Nanas. <\/p>\n

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Niki de Saint Phalle, She – A Cathedral, 1966, 28 x 23 x 6 m, Stockholm, Moderna Museet<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

A part of her rebellious adolescence persists in her works, as does her committed character. Niki wrote and illustrated a book in 1987 for AIDS prevention entitled AIDS: You Can’t Catch It Holding Hands. The artist is also a feminist and fights against patriarchal domination. One of her most representative works, with its <\/span>sometimes shocking<\/span> approach, is Elle-<\/span>une<\/span> cath\u00e9drale<\/span>. Created jointly by Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely and Per Olof <\/span>Ultvedt<\/span>, this six-ton \u201cmonument\u201d invites spectators to enter the work through the Nana\u2019s genitals.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n

A loving partnership<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/h2>\n
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Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely’s partnership<\/a> has become iconic. The two artists are often the subject of joint retrospectives. They jointly produced <\/span>numerous<\/span> works, such as the recently restored Stravinsky Fountain in Paris.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n

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The Clown Hat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Mouth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n

The mechanized sculptures are animated by water jets operating in a closed circuit. The fountain was commissioned by the contemporary mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac, from the two artists. This commission was made in the 1980s, in favor of monumental contemporary artistic creation. This creation was made in homage to the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) and inspired by his “Rite of Spring,” which caused controversy in 1913 during the ballet’s performance at the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre des Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es. <\/p>\n

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Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely & collaborators, The Tarot Garden, 1979-1998, Italy, <\/span>Garavicchio<\/span> di Pescia Fiorentina<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

<\/span>The quintessential Mediterranean Garden features sculptures, fountains, and habitable houses. The Tuscan sun reflects off the works surrounded by olive trees and diverse vegetation. <\/span><\/span>The Tarot Garden<\/span><\/span> is now administered by the private <\/span><\/span>Foundation Il Giardino <\/span>dei<\/span> Tarocchi<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n

Passionate about esotericism, the 22 sculptures represent the Major Arcana of the Tarot. As with all her large-scale sculptures, she applies concrete and polyester to a metal structure, the whole covered with a mosaic of ceramic, glass, or plastic. Since 1983, all ceramics have been made on site. <\/p>\n\n

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Some examples of sculptures<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Stravinsky Fountain, The Firebird<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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