This solo show includes artworks by the French-American sculptor, painter and filmmaker. A key figure of the New Realism movement, she scored contemporary art with her colorful and round shape works.
The Vicky David Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition
of artworks by the French-American sculptor, painter and
filmmaker Niki de Saint Phalle from April 19th, 2012.
A
key
figure
of
the
New
Realism
movement,
Niki
de
Saint
Phalle
(1930
-
2002)
scored
contemporary
art
with
her
colorful
and
round
shape
works.
Niki
de
Saint
Phalle
spends
her
childhood
and
adolescence
between
France
and
the
United
States.
A
victim
of
incest
when
she
was
eleven,
made
her
a
turbulent
teenager
with
heightened
sensitivity.
Early
on,
she
rebels
against
traditional
morals
of
the
middle
class,
from
which
she
is
from
and
denounces
the
distribution
of
roles.
At
18
she
elopes
and
after
the
birth
of
her
two
children,
Niki
sinks
into
a
severe
nervous
breakdown.
She
finds
refuge
in
painting
and
becomes
part
of
the
Parisian
artistic
society
that
highly
encourages
her.
In
the
1960s,
she
draws
attention
to
herself
with
the
“Shooting
Paintings”,
performances
during
which
she
invites
viewers
to
shoot
(with
a
rifle)
at
bags
of
paint
hidden
behind
a
complex
assembly
of
plaster
and
common
objects.
The
shoot-‐outs
are
a
therapy
for
Niki:
pulling
the
paint
is
like
drawing
on
society
and
its
injustices.
The
famous
art
critic
Pierre
Restany
is
enthused
by
these
performances
and
decides
to
adopt
her
among
the
New
Realists.
Niki
shares
now
her
life
and
work
with
Jean
Tinguely.
Her
work
takes
a
more
feminine
turn
with
the
“Nanas”,
her
famous
sculptures
of
voluptuous
women
in
bright
colors
made
of
mesh,
polyester
and
paper
mache,
for
which
she
will
obtain
international
recognition.
The
“Nanas"
explore
the
ambiguity
of
the
status
of
women
and
participate
in
the
struggle
for
equal
rights.
In
1966
Niki
and
Tinguely
(to
whom
to
she
later
married
in
1971)
make
a
25
meter
“Nana”
for
the
Modern
Museum
of
Stockholm.
Following
this
exhibition,
public
commissions
of
“Nanas”
flow
and
Niki
develops
architectural
projects.
She
also
creates
many
sets
for
ballets
and
plays
and
is
involved
in
filmmaking.
She
breaks
the
hierarchy
between
the
arts.
In
the
1980’s,
her
work
culminates
with
a
major
retrospective
organized
at
the
Centre
Georges
Pompidou
in
Paris.
The
years
that
followed
are
marked
by
loneliness
and
depression.
Niki
suffers
from
lung
problems
due
to
the
inhalation
of
the
vapors
and
dust
from
the
polyester
she
used
in
the
realization
of
her
sculptures.
While
she
is
dedicated
to
the
achievement
of
the
sculpture
park
in
Tuscany
(a
homage
to
Gaudí),
she
produces
several
fascinating
pieces
of
decorative
art,
but
the
lung
disease
continues
to
develop.
Niki’s
mystical
and
fabulous
world
refers
to
different
cultures.
Fascinated
with
primitive
arts
and
legendary
myths,
she
reinvests
them
by
giving
them
a
raw
but
poetic
tone.
Nature
and
animal
kingdom
are
omnipresent
in
her
work.
Snakes,
dogs,
dragons
and
birds
make
their
appearance,
both
omens
of
danger
or
temptation
and
protectors.
The
art
of
Niki
is
shaped
by
painful
experiences.
Her
sculptures,
fueled
with
the
exaltation
of
the
joy
of
life
are
a
way
to
externalize
her
anxieties.
Behind
the
apparent
simplicity
of
her
work
are
hidden
cathartic
powers.
Since
1968,
many
major
exhibitions
have
been
devoted
to
her,
including
retrospectives
in
several
cities.
Her
work
is
exhibited
in
major
museums
and
the
subject
of
public
installations
throughout
the
world.
Among
the
major
installations
are
the
"Stravinsky
Fountain"
in
Paris,
realized
with
Jean
Tinguely
and
made
in
honor
of
the
eponymous
Russian
composer
(1983),
in
which
naive
figures
meet
the
engineering,
the
"Tarot
Garden"
in
Tuscany
or
the
"La
Grotte"
of
the
Great
Herrenhäuser
garden
in
Hanover.
In
2002,
she
received
the
Praemium
Imperiale,
considered
to
be
the
equivalent
of
the
Nobel
Prize
in
the
arts.
Niki
de
Saint
Phalle
passed
away
in
May
2002,
in
La
Jolla,
California,
at
the
age
of
71.
The
world
mourned
the
loss
of
a
courageous
woman
who
fought
all
her
life
for
freedom
and
who
used
her
art
to
bring
joy
and
color
to
the
world.
Images: Le Champignon Magique", 1989. Mixed Media, 300 x 210 x 170 cm / 118 x 82 x 67 in. Courtesy
of
Vicky
David
Gallery,
New
York
Vicky David
522 west 23rd street - New York
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 6pm