Нікі де Сайнт Фалле: А-З

The Many Facets of Niki de Saint Phalle

Niki de Saint Phalle loved pseudo-orders, which she used to arbitrarily assemble terms and pictograms on a sheet of paper. Under the heading “I Love,” for example, the sign of a snake could be found next to the emblem for justice, an orange spot for the corresponding color next to two stars as a symbol for astrology. Niki de Saint Phalle A–Z takes the same liberty and puts the many facets of Niki de Saint Phalle’s work into the order of the alphabet. This logical order is deceptive, though. From A as in AIDS to Z as in Zurich Angel, from B as in Bride to V as in Vanitas, a mosaic of concepts emerges that filters out the various levels of meaning in her manifold oeuvre and playfully engages them in mutual commentary.

Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) was one of the most important artists and sculptors of her generation. Growing up in Paris and New York, she returned to Paris in the 1950s, where she began her artistic career with her legendary “shooting” series. Her sensual female figures, the Nanas, gained her widespread popularity. 

About the Author: 

Art scholar Katharina Sykora (*1955) was a professor at the University of Bochum and Braunschweig University of Art from 1994 to 2018. Her fields of research include the construction of authorship, gender and transmediality.