A recently inaugurated and will be available until February 16, 2025 at the Mudec, the first major retrospective in an Italian civic museum dedicated to the eclectic and audacious Niki de Saint Phalle. The Franco-American artist, famous for her monumental works, the iconic Nanas, and her rebellious spirit, is back in the spotlight in an exhibition that reveals the most intimate and committed side of her production. A dedicated catalog and the return of her now hard-to-find book My Secret enrich the exhibition experience.
Niki de Saint Phalle is a figure that defies any singular definition. Painter, sculptor, performer, experimental filmmaker: her art intertwines with a profound reflection on social issues, the fight against injustices, and the affirmation of femininity. The exhibition, curated by Lucia Pesapane in collaboration with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation, guides us through eight thematic sections, exploring the stages of a long and revolutionary career.
Niki is not only an artist who has left an indelible mark on the art world of the 20th century, but also an activist, a powerful voice for the rights of minorities, the most vulnerable, the sick, children, and even animals. Her visual language, colorful and vibrant, is a universal message of inclusion and freedom. Her works, accessible and loved by all generations, carry a powerful charge of rebellion against injustice, but they do so through beauty.
Although her most famous sculptures are the large and sinuous Grandmothers, the exhibition at Mudec goes beyond, revealing the complexity and depth of her work. From works on paper to experimental films, from videos to large-scale sculptures, the exhibition tells the story of a Niki de Saint Phalle who destroys and rebuilds, who provokes and consoles, who through art transforms pain into beauty.
The exhibition at Mudec coincides with another show dedicated to Jean Tinguely, husband and life partner of Niki, at Hangar Bicocca. Their relationship, described as explosive and complementary, has given rise to a unique artistic dialogue, a dance between Yin and Yang, between colors and materials in apparent contrast, which together have created astonishing works.
This exhibition is a chance to admire 110 extraordinary works and to rediscover the most personal and painful side of Niki de Saint Phalle, an artist who, through provocations and acts of rebellion, was able to build a vision of the world where art is a weapon to change the world, an access to freedom and beauty.
