We are honored and proud to present the work of Niki de
Saint Phalle for the first time at KunstHausWien The exhibition
consists of 90 works from the donation
"Niki de Saint Phalle LA
FÊTE", Sprengel Museum, with paintings, collages, assemblages,
sculptures and maquettes, further drawingsand original graphic works
such as the famous series "Nana Power" or "My Love".
The exhibition "The birth of the Nanas" is celebrating Niki de Saint
Phalle in the Sixties. This was the decade in which she came to world
fame with two major actions and inventions. The first, right at the
beginning of the Sixties, consists of her assemblages and shooting
pictures in which she took an almost political stand against violence
and patriarchal society. Niki's performances received worldwide
publicity, and the young artist was dubbed a "Diana of Montparnasse", an
avenging huntress. With the invention of the Nanas, the female figures
that carry in them all aspects of femininity, her challenge to the
violent male world became exceptionally popular. In 1966 she presented
"Hon" in Stockholm, a gigantic reclining female figure. The fact that
the figure could be entered via the vagina was a slap in the face to
"decent" citizens of the day. Niki de Saint Phalle became a household
name in the Sixties.
On 19th November 2000 Niki de Saint Phalle gave over 360 of her works
to the City of Hannover and the Sprengel Museum in Hannover. Ranging
from the early assemblages to the "shooting" pictures, sculptures,
drawings and art prints, the collection covers all the main creative
periods up until the Eighties.
