Niki de Saint Phalle

Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) was a major figure of the postwar European avant-garde. Self-taught and defiantly unclassifiable, she first gained attention in the early 1960s with her “Shooting Paintings” (Tirs), radical performances that combined painting, assemblage, and gunfire. A member of the Nouveau Réalisme movement, she later developed a bold and exuberant universe with her iconic Nanas: joyful, monumental sculptures celebrating femininity, freedom, and vitality.

A committed artist, feminist, and social critic, Saint Phalle merged art and life through a body of work that spanned sculpture, film, design, and architecture. Her imaginative language, rich in myth, symbolism, and color, remains instantly recognizable and celebrated worldwide.