**__**Niki de Saint Phalle first received attention in the early 1960s for 'Tirs', meaning 'fire' or 'gunshot', a series that involved shooting at the canvas with actual firearms.
Read MoreBehind the canvas were plastic bags filled with paint, which would create bursts of colour as the bullets penetrated them. The artist staged the shooting as performances or invited members of the audience to participate, including artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.
In her performances, de Saint Phalle explored the social roles and identities assigned to gender by dressing herself in costumes ranging from white overalls to a red dress.__
In the mid-1960s, Saint Phalle increasingly shifted away from the violent 'Tirs' to the more lighthearted but equally bright-coloured 'Nanas', sculptures in the form of voluptuous female figures. Referring to a French slang word for women, the artist's 'Nanas' confront patriarchy in their unapologetically joyous and daring postures. She created 'Nanas' in numerous materials, including wool, yarn, wire, papier mâché, and polyester, and in various dimensions.
The largest of de Saint Phalle's 'Nanas' was Hon (1966), an approximately 23-metre-tall sculpture lying on her back that the artist created with Tinguely and Finnish artist Per-Olof Ultvedt. First presented in so a solo exhibition at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Hon had a door between her open legs through which visitors could explore the inside of her body, including a bar in her breast.
de Saint Phalle also aligned herself with the American civil rights movement of the 1960s, showing her support through her large Black 'Nanas' such as Black Venus (1965–1967) and Black Nana (1967–1969). In the 1980s, she advocated for the awareness of HIV/AIDS through works including her book AIDS: You Can't Catch It Holding Hands (1987), whose illustrations feature dancers evocative of 'Nanas'.
Niki de Saint Phalle's monumental sculptures can be found in numerous sites and cities. Tarot Garden (1979–2002) in Garavicchio, Tuscany, consists of large-scale structures inspired by the 22 major arcana of the tarot deck, and feature de Saint Phalle's characteristically bold colours and patterns, as well as Nana-like figures.
