You may remember that some months ago, SCHUNCK* Heerlenissued a challenge to high school students from seven European schools to design a sculpture inspired by “Hon – a Cathedral,” the legendary work Niki de Saint Phalle created for Stockholm’s Moderna Museet in 1966.
The context, of course, was the exhibition “Niki de Saint Phalle: Outside-In,” which opened at SCHUNCK* on 25 February. The winner, a polar bear named “Tosca,” was slated for full-size construction at the end of March.
Well, Tosca is now living large in Heerlen’s Pancratius Square, as you can see for yourself via this live streaming webcam. (To give you an idea how large, the object on the lower left is a person on a scooter.) The official unveiling took place on 30 April. If you read Dutch, the Dagblad De Limburger / Limburgs Dagblad has details (“Reusachtige ‘ijsbeer-sculptuur’ Tosca geopend“). Congratulations once again to the students at the Institut Saint-Laurent in Liège who came up with this design!
The story of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely weds a brilliant artistic collaboration with one of the greatest love stories in the history of art — a story detailed and celebrated in the award-winning film “Les Bonnie & Clyde de l’art,” by Louise Faure and Anne Julien.
On 21 May, Faure and Julien will present a screening of their film at the Cinéma Action Christine in Paris. The 55-minute film will be shown on Saturday 21 May at 11 am at the Cinéma Action Christine, 4, rue Christine, Paris, in the 6th arrondissement between Odéon and the Place Saint-Michel (+33 01 43 25 85 78).
“Les Bonnie & Clyde de l’art,” which was shown on the European cultural channel Arte last August, won the prize for Best TV Film at the Festival International du film sur l’Art de Montréal 2011.
KUNZELSAU — The Kunsthalle Würth in Schwäbisch Hall shows the wide-ranging oeuvre of the multifaceted artist Niki de Saint Phalle, undoubtedly one of the most important artists of the 20th century, in a large survey exhibition. Through her paintings, assemblages, shooting paintings (tirs), sculptures and installations, this artist created a unique cosmos which established her international reputation.
Niki de Saint Phalle, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1930 and died in San Diego, California, in 2002, had a defining influence on the art of her day, feminine features of which she celebrated and shaped. Like no one before her, she found a valid form for the elemental force of femininity, particularly in her Nanas.
The exhibition at the Kunsthalle Würth will provide an extensive overview of her oeuvre, from the early paintings to the late sculptures. Play With Me, the title both of the exhibition and of one of her first paintings, is also directed at the viewer. It is an appeal to the individual’s creativity, an invitation to make an attempt and participate in the artist’s unbridled joie de vivre. That joy was evident in all the phases of her creative life. Her oeuvre unites her interest in the originality of life and her own experiences. Niki de Saint Phalle cannot really be categorised, nor was she shy of contradictoriness. Whether she engrossed herself in sources like the tarot or Indian culture, or drew on subjective experiences, such as her childhood memories, everything flowed directly into her art and involved a broad creative spectrum. Painting, drawing and printing, the colossal but also miniature sculptures, reliefs, gardens, and also books, letters and written records, up to and including films form a unique cosmos – and the essence of her creative work.
The exhibition of more than 150 works, curated by Guido Magnaguagno, former director of the Tinguely Museum in Basel, embraces both the sculptures in the Würth Collection and works on loan from the Niki Charitable Art Foundation in California and Paris, the Sprengel Museum in Hanover and the Musée d’art moderne in Nice, to all of which Niki de Saint Phalle made generous donations of her works. The show also features works from numerous private and public lenders. It will be complemented moreover by quintessential works by Jean Tinguely, her partner of many years, and paintings by her first teacher, the still largely unknown Hugh Weiss. The presentation will also involve the artist’s films, which illustrate her dream worlds and her engagement with the patriarchy, and which are frequently dealt with quite separately from her other work.
Image: A visitor passes between US-French artist Niki de Saint Phalle’s (1930-2002) “Kingfisher Totem” (L) and her “Bird Head Totem” (R) at the “Play With Me” exhibition preview at the Kunsthalle Wuerth in Schwaebisch Hall, Germany. The Kunsthalle will show around 180 paintings, sculptures and installations at the exhibition that consist mostly of loaned artworks. The exhibition runs from 17 April until 16 October 2011. (EPA/BERND WEISSBROD)
“Niki de Saint Phalle: Play With Me,” surveying the work of Niki de Saint Phalle, opened 17 April at the Kunsthalle Würth in the Schwäbisch Hall, Künzelsau, Germany. ArtDaily.org reports:
“The Kunsthalle Würth in Schwäbisch Hall shows the wide-ranging oeuvre of the multifaceted artist Niki de Saint Phalle, undoubtedly one of the most important artists of the 20th century, in a large survey exhibition. Through her paintings, assemblages, shooting paintings (tirs), sculptures and installations, this artist created a unique cosmos which established her international reputation.” Read the full story here.
Curated by Guido Magnaguagno, former director of the Tinguely Museum in Basel, the exhibition presents more than 150 of Niki’s works. It includes sculptures from the Würth Collection and works on loan from the Niki Charitable Art Foundation, the Sprengel Museum in Hanover, the Musée d’art moderne in Nice, and other private and public lenders. It also includes films by the artist, key works by her partner Jean Tinguely, and paintings by her first teacher, Hugh Weiss. The exhibition runs from 17 April to 16 October 2011.
Above: A visitor passes between Niki de Saint Phalle’s “Kingfisher Totem” (L) and her “Bird Head Totem” (R) at the “Play With Me” exhibition preview at the Kunsthalle Würth in Künzelsau, Germany. (EPA/BERND WEISSBROD)
The Wall Street Journal has some advice for its readers: Don’t miss “Niki de Saint Phalle: Creation of a New Mythology,” the new exhibition that opened 18 March at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Under the heading “A Playful Sculptress,” the Journal includes the show in its “Don’t Miss” section for the week of 9-15 April.
As the Journal notes, the exhibition includes some 60 works by Niki de Saint Phalle, in addition to five large-scale sculptures on outdoor display in the Green next to the museum.
At right is La Cabeza (2000), shown here installed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden for the 2006 exhibition “Niki in the Garden.”
You may remember that some months ago, SCHUNCK* Heerlen issued a challenge to high school students from seven European schools to design a sculpture inspired by “Hon – a Cathedral,” the legendary work Niki de Saint Phalle created for Stockholm’s Moderna Museet in 1966.