Born in 1930, Niki de Saint Phalle is a self-taught artist. She began her artistic career in the fifties and is inspired for her creations by several artistic currents as well as by her elders and contemporaries, Gaudi and Pollock in particular. In 1971, she married Swiss artist Jean Tinguely for a second time. Together, this iconic couple created numerous sculptures such as the Stravinsky Fountain and Paradis fantastique.
Alongside the Nanas, animals occupy a central place in Niki de Saint Phalle’s work. Indeed, through her creations, the artist imagines a real fantastic bestiary in which each animal has symbolic connotations, evocative of our human nature. In the image of the latter, these animals present several levels of reading and are filled with contradictions. They can represent both our anxieties and fears and the possibilities of transcending them.
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