NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE

For half a century, Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) forged a radical, interdisciplinary practice marked by constant innovation, creating works that are feminist, collaborative, and monumental. Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and raised in New York City, she moved to Paris in 1952 and immersed herself in the avant-garde. In 1961, she became the only female member of the Nouveaux Réalistes following the first performances of her Tirs (Shooting Paintings), wherein she and invited participants (eventually including Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg) fired a rifle at plaster reliefs embedded with bags of paint to create spontaneous compositions. In 1965, she initiated her exuberant Nana sculptures of the feminine form. Her largest, HON (1966, made with artists Jean Tinguely and Per Olof Ultvedt), filled the entire exhibition hall of Moderna Museet, Stockholm, and was entered through a doorway positioned between the figure’s thighs. From the late 1960s onward, Saint Phalle expanded her practice to include architectural projects, sculpture gardens, books, prints, films, theatre sets, and jewelry. Her work often engaged social issues, particularly women’s rights, climate change, and AIDS awareness. In 1979 she broke ground on Tarot Garden, a massive installation in Tuscany that opened to the public in 1998, living within one of its structures for several years. She moved to La Jolla, California, in 1993, continuing her public sculpture projects until her death.