Niki de Saint Phalle
H 62 x 56 x 24 in
1992 uniquely captures the expressive capabilities of the artist's most
recognizable and flushed-out motif of her oeuvre, the Nanas.
Renderd in vibrant shades of red, blue, yellow, and green, the present
work depicts a winged figure, whose torso is covered by a bodacious
feminine figure who grips on around the shoulders and hips. The
immaculate polyester resin lends itself to proudly present the distinct
richness of vibrant color and pattern throughout the surface of the
sculpture. Unlike other examples of Nanas from this period, this
work is unique in that it also bears the imagery of the liberated bird,
representative of desire for free will. L’oiseaux Amoreaux is the
stylistic culmination of an artist who dared to forge a new path from
her peers of the nouveau réalisme, yielding to her commitment to create a
vibrant and captivating, yet revolutionary homage to womanhood itself.
While
at once cartoonish and imaginative, this expressive and subtly
intensely detailed sculpture stands ambitiously large at just over five
feet tall. The voluptuous and colorfully accentuated female figure is
arrested in space, gripping to l’oiseau amoreux, a character with
its wings spread in protection and ability to take flight at its free
will. The colorful resin throughout the sculpture dramatically
hypnotizes the viewer’s eye and develops a symbiosis between that of l’oiseau and the nana figures.
Reflecting upon Matisse’s jubilant, colorful dancers and Miro’s use of
the bird amongst his lexicon of symbols, the present lot is
personification of femininity, uniquely and whimsically portraying
freedom and empowerment of women.
“Niki de Saint Phalle is known in the art world
especially for her Nanas...It is certain that she found a way to create
an apotheosis of woman in all her aspects that gave her great freedom,
joy and the power of conviction. The word “Nana” had nothing respectful
when it was used in French vernacular, but Niki de Saint Phalle has
somehow ennobled it.”
- PONTUS HULTEN, NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE, 1995, P. 15
As Robert Rauchenberg notably described, the nouveau
realists wanted to explore new methods of “working in the gap between
art and life” through their artistic practices. (Rauschenberg: The ¼
Mile, Exh. leaflet, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2018 - 2019).
de Saint Phalle’s oeuvre effortlessly integrates relevant issues in
subject matter and application, flushing out unique responses to
relevant happenings while translating her most personal demons. At the
outset of her career, the violence of the 1950’s and early 1960’s led
the artist down a more performative path; her practice consisted of
shooting plastic packages of paint with a rifle, allowing the paint to
bleed down the canvas creating an emotionally charged and dynamic
composition. Subsequently, after a visit with Larry River’s wife,
Clarice, who was expecting her first child, de Saint Phalle began to
explore the feminine figure and empowerment of motherhood at the advent
of the feminist movement. In the 1960s, the artist inaugurated her most
recognizable series, the Nanas, fashioning sculptures of women that defy
gravity through their delicate equilibrium despite her exaggerated
forms. Masterfully combining Modernist traditional techniques with her
use of color and thematic elements, the glaring originality of her
population of Nanas is a product of the mind of the artist
herself. Drawing from the psychology of women as a whole as well as her
own experiences, the artist fills her seemingly lighthearted period of
her oeuvre with a threat to the patriarchy with a concurrent celebration
of the female. All at once, Niki de Saint Phalle was a prolific
profound yet jubilant artist, but most importantly a consistent
representative of the feminist spirit.