Niki de Saint Phalle retrospective at MUDEC Milan explores Nanas and Tarot Garden

A major monographic exhibition on Niki de Saint Phalle opens in autumn 2024 at MUDEC in Milan. The Franco-American artist (1930–2002), associated with Nouveau Réalisme, is best known for her colorful, oversized female sculptures called Nanas, some large enough to inhabit. Her life was marked by childhood trauma, including abuse by her father, which she channeled into art as liberation. After early acting and modeling for Vogue, Life, and Harper's Bazaar, a nervous breakdown led her to painting. Her first solo show was in Switzerland in 1956. There she met Jean Tinguely, kinetic artist and later husband, with whom she collaborated on the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris and the Tarot Garden in Tuscany. The garden features 22 monumental sculptures representing tarot arcana, built with metal armatures by Tinguely and covered in mosaic. The land was granted by Marella Caracciolo Agnelli. De Saint Phalle's Shooting Paintings (Tirs) involved firing a rifle at paint-filled bags, often with audience participation, as catharsis. Her Nanas, inspired by African, Central American, and Gaudí's art, celebrate diversity and rebel against female stereotypes. The exhibition is curated by Lucia Pesapane.