NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE

Companion to the exhibition, NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE — Insider / Outsider World Inspired Art . 70 color and black and white photographs and bibliographical and selected solo and group exhibitions lists. Commentaries by Martha Longenecker, Niki de Saint Phalle, Janice Parente, Pontus Hulten and Mario Botta. Design and editing by Martha Longenecker, Director. ISBN No, 0-919155-10-5.

The fantastic imagery and monumental figures of this internationally-known self-taught artist—sculptures, paintings, reliefs graphic works and maquettes.

Excerpt from the book

Introduction by Martha Longenecker

In the passage of our lives we are, indeed, fortunate who feel our spirits quicken by the seeing of visual works of art — tangible expressions of innate creative powers wanting and bursting to be expressed by all human beings.

Mingei International is a young museum dedicated to furthering understanding of art of people from all cultures of our world. These objects integrally related to life speak eloquently of the similarities and distinctions of individuals and cultures. At this auspicious time of its twentieth anniversary, the Museum has chosen to present the arresting work of a French-American who perhaps has had the greatest international impact of any woman artist of the twentieth century.

Playful, fresh, frolicsome, vigorous, soaring, creative, different, colorful, uninhibited, innovative, energizing, spontaneous, imaginative, delightful, benevolent, stimulating, powerful — all of these adjectives have been used in an attempt to describe what cannot be put into words, the buoyant and vast spirit expressed in the art of Niki de Saint Phalle.

Her drawing, painting and sculpture stimulate connections with all of life, and many reflect archetypal images to which we are all related at the deepest level. Familiar forms such as chairs, tables, lamps and vases are transformed into spirited images often provocative and amusing. They help us to see the familiar in a fresh and approachable new way.

Hollow architectural forms invite one to enter, explore and touch wondrous surfaces. One of Niki's works most loved by children is the large skull in which they play, moving in and around, looking in and out as they enjoy a new dimension. Fear of death may be replaced by their intuiting the transitory life of the body and the inhabiting spirit beyond. Adults, too, find delight in sitting on the laps of Charlie and Claire, other larger-than-life figurative works.

Born in France of French heritage, Niki was raised and educated in the United States of America before returning as an adult to her homeland where her career as an artist developed. Hers is a French/American spirit of universal roots — the same boundless source of all art throughout time, interest in which has been so powerfully reawakened in the twentieth century.

Niki's work is the epitome of a long, arduous and successful struggle of ever-deepening perception and unfragmented action of body, mind and spirit. It has matured through many years of working in collaboration with many other artists and craftsmen, including dancers, set designers, stone cutters, masons and welders. Because she has had no formal art training Niki's work is sometimes referred to as "outsider art," a kind of primitive or naive folk art. Paradoxically, it is precisely because she works intuitively, from the inside out, that the public has so enthusiastically embraced her art. Amazingly appealing to all manner of people globally, major installations include the Tarot Garden in Italy, the Stravinsky Fountain in Paris, a Niki Museum in Nasu, Japan, and work in progress, the Noah's Ark in Jerusalem. With her having received such broad recognition, many now consider her an insider.

Insider, outsider, whatever one may call it, the art of Niki de Saint Phalle is not to be ignored. It is life-changing. She has paved the way for the rich diversity of the 21st century and the end of superficial distinctions, including insider, outsider, folk, craft and fine art. Art is one with kinds as many as there are individuals. The international language of art knows no barriers of time, place, or race. It speaks directly to each of us personally according to our receptivity and changing perception...