176 / 219
3701
NIKI DE SAINT-PHALLE
(Neuilly-sur-Seine 1930 - 2002 San Diego)
Faucon bleu. 1980.
Lamp. Painted resin, metall and light bulps.
Signed and numbered on the base: NIKI
4/8, also with the foundry stamp at the
backside of the left foot: Mark R. Haligon.
Height 69 cm.
Provenance: Private collection Switzerland.
From the mid 1960s, the sculptor and
painter Niki de Saint Phalle dedicated
herself to the abstracted Nana female
figures, with their emphatically lavish and
over-sized forms, which were playful and
brightly painted. With her “Nanas”, from
the French colloquial word for woman, the
artist examined the role of the woman in
depth. As early as 1968, the Nanas were
being exhibited at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York.
Numerous artworks and objects emer-
ged from the Nana figures, which can
be seen in public spaces; the floating
“L’Ange Protecteur” at the central railway
station in Zurich, the wonderful “Giardino
dei Tarocchi” in Tuscany from 1979, and
the Stravinsky Fountain at the Centre
Pompidou in Paris, which she constructed
in 1982 in collaboration with Jean Tinguely.
The Nana motif runs throughout her body
of work and resulted in her being involved
in crafts as well as fine art. So for example,
she designed houses, jewellery and furni-
ture, including the original and decorative
standard lamps with cats, snakes or bird
figures, such as the one offered here at
auction.
CHF 20 000 / 30 000
(€ 18 520 / 27 780)
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Prints & Multiples