Niki de Saint Phalle

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Saint Phalle, Niki de (1930–2002). French sculptor, graphic artist, and film-maker, one of the great entertainers of modern art. She was born at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, the daughter of a banker, and was brought up in New York, where her family settled in 1933. After being expelled from various convent schools and working briefly as a model, she eloped with an aspiring poet when she was 18. In 1951 she and her husband moved to France, settling in Paris, and in 1952 she started painting without formal artistic training. She began making reliefs and assemblages in 1956 and first came to public prominence in 1960 with ‘rifle-shot’ paintings that incorporated containers of paint intended to be burst and spattered when shot with a pistol. After she separated from her husband in 1960, she lived with Jean Tinguely, with whom she collaborated on numerous projects, notably the enormous sculpture Hon (Swedish for ‘She') erected at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, in 1966; the Swedish artist Per Olof Ultvedt (1927– ) also worked on Hon. It was in the form of a reclining woman (more than 25 metres long) whose interior was a giant environment reminiscent of a fun-fair; visitors entered through the vagina. The attractions inside included a milk bar in one of the breasts and a cinema showing Greta Garbo movies. Externally the figure was gaudily painted in a manner similar to that of Saint Phalle's series of Nanas—grotesque fat ladies. Her other work included Happenings, films, and a huge sculpture garden—the Tarot Garden—at Garavicchio in Italy (begun 1979). Saint Phalle also produced a touching book on AIDS addressed to her son (AIDS: You Can't Catch it Holding Hands, 1987) and a giant figure of the Loch Ness Monster made for an exhibition of her work in Glasgow in 1992.

Saint Phalle, Niki de (b Neuilly-sur-Seine, 29 Oct. 1930; d La Jolla, Calif., 21 May 2002). French sculptor, graphic artist, and film-maker, one of the great entertainers of modern art. In 1952 she started painting without formal artistic training and she first came to public prominence in 1960 with ‘rifle-shot’ paintings that incorporated containers of paint intended to be burst and spattered when shot with a pistol. After she separated from her husband in 1960 she lived with Jean Tinguely, with whom she collaborated on numerous projects, notably the enormous sculpture Hon (Swedish for ‘she’) erected at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, in 1963 (destroyed). It was in the form of a reclining woman (more than 25 m (80 ft) long) whose interior was a giant ‘Environment’ reminiscent of a funfair: visitors entered through the vagina. The attractions inside included a milk bar in the breasts and a cinema showing Greta Garbo movies. Externally the figure was gaudily painted in a manner similar to that of her series of Nanas—grotesque fat ladies. Her other works included happenings, films, and a huge sculpture garden at Garavicchio in Italy (begun 1979). Other projects from her later years included a touching book on AIDS addressed to her son (AIDS: You Can't Catch it Holding Hands, 1987) and a giant figure of the Loch Ness Monster, made for an exhibition of her work in Glasgow in 1992.

Saint Phalle, Niki de (1930–2002). French sculptor, graphic artist, and film-maker, one of the great entertainers of modern art. In 1952 she started painting without formal artistic training and she first came to public prominence in 1960 with ‘rifle-shot’ paintings that incorporated containers of paint intended to be burst and spattered when shot with a pistol. After she separated from her husband in 1960 she lived with Jean Tinguely, with whom she collaborated on numerous projects, notably the enormous sculpture Hon (Swedish: ‘She’) erected at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, in 1963 (destroyed). It was in the form of a reclining woman (more than 25 m (80 ft) long) whose interior was a giant ‘environment’ reminiscent of a funfair: visitors entered through the vagina. The attractions inside included a milk bar in the breasts and a cinema showing Greta Garbo movies. Externally the figure was gaudily painted in a manner similar to that of her series of Nanas—grotesque fat ladies. Her other works included happenings and films, and from 1979 she worked on a huge sculpture garden at Garavicchio in Italy. Other projects of her later years included a touching book on AIDS addressed to her son (AIDS: You Can't Catch it Holding Hands, 1987) and a huge figure of the Loch Ness monster, made for an exhibition of her work in Glasgow in 1992.