Niki de Saint Phalle

Niki de Saint Phalle was a French-American artist known for sculpture, painting, performance, film, and illustrated books.

Niki de Saint Phalle was a French-American artist born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, in 1930. She worked across sculpture, painting, performance, film, and illustrated books, and is best known for her large, brightly coloured monumental sculptures called 'Nanas'. Her art explored themes of femininity, violence, and joy, and she was a prominent figure in the Nouveau Réalisme movement.

Early life

Niki de Saint Phalle was born Catherine Marie-Agnès Fal de Saint Phalle in 1930 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. She grew up in a Franco-American family, with an aristocratic background and time spent in both France and the United States.

Artistic career

De Saint Phalle's practice included sculpture, painting, performance, film, and hand-illustrated books. Her work became known for bold colour, playful form, and large public works, and she was one of the few prominent women monumental sculptors of her era.

Nanas and major works

De Saint Phalle's best-known sculptures are the voluptuous, brightly coloured female figures called 'Nanas'. She also created major environments and public artworks, including the Tarot Garden in Tuscany and works connected with the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris.

Themes and legacy

Her work explored femininity, gender oppression, violence, healing, and joy. She is regarded as an important figure in postwar art and one of the best-known female sculptors of the 20th century.