Niki de saint phalle nanas biography template
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Niki de Saint Phalle American/ French, 1930-2002
Niki dem Saint Phalle (1930-2002) is a French American sculptor, writer, scen designer and filmmaker.
Born in France, Saint Phalle soon moved to Greenwich, Connecticut, with her parents in 1933, growing up in a strict environment that made her childhood very difficult and traumatic. During her teenage years she worked as a model for several important publications including Elle and Harper’s Bazaar, and even appeared on the cover of Life and the French issue of Vogue. It would not be until her marriage to Harry Mathews that she would take up painting, experimenting with different media and developing her self-taught style.
The American painter Hugo Weiss was a major influence on her work and became both a friend and mentor to her, he encouraged her to continue painting in her self taught style. She moved to Spain in 1955 and was influenced by the work of Antonio Gaudi especially his use of unusual m
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News & Announcements
Throughout her career, Niki de Saint Phalle was labeled a ‘woman artist’ and had to prove her art was to be held at the same level as her male counterparts. As a female, sometimes her art wasn’t what was discussed, rather the discussion focused on her appearance, marriage, and children.
“So you’re one of those writer’s wives that paint,”… inom felt it disavowed a really worthwhile life, doing my work quietly with passion. I considered myself an artist, putting in full days, working as much as I could on my art. I could not see how the fact that inom was married and not earning a living from my art reduced my work to a “housewife’s hobby”.Excerpt quote of Niki de Saint Phalle from ‘Harry and Me’
Saint Phalle wanted to combat the notion of women in their assigned roles, as wives, mothers, and caretakers of the household. She started her shooting paintings, and focused her anger and rage into these paintings/performances.
“Performance art did•
Life & Work
In 1960, Niki and Harry separate and Harry moves to a new apartment with the children. Niki sets up a studio and continues her artistic experiments. She is included in an important group exhibition at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. By the end of the year Niki and Jean Tinguely move in together, sharing the same studio and living in an artists’ colony.
In the early 1960s Niki creates “shooting paintings” (Tirs), complex assemblages with concealed paint containers that are shot by pistol, rifle, or cannon fire. The impact of the projectile creates spontaneous effects which finish the work. The shooting paintings evolve to include elements of spectacle and performance. Niki becomes part of the Nouveau Réalisme group of artists — the only woman in a group that includes Arman, Christo, Yves Klein, Jean Tinguely, and Jacques de la Villeglé, among others.
Niki has her first solo exhibition in Paris in 1961 and becomes friends