Discover Niki de Saint Phalle's work in a different way with "The Magic Bestiary" in Aix-en-Provence

She sits majestically in the first room of the Hôtel de Caumont in Aix-en-Provence. A Nana by Niki de Saint Phalle, with her generous curves, her flamboyant colors, her small head... but also this snake that encircles her. The Aix museum is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the artist entitled Le Bestiaire magique . While they represent an important period in her career, it would be reductive to limit Niki de Saint Phalle's work to her Nanas alone. Self-taught, a major figure of new realism, she offers a protean catalog, of which the exhibition offers a representative sample.

"Make the paint bleed"

Starting with the Shooting series. "She had the idea of ​​wanting to 'make the painting bleed,'" explains Laura Loghrieb, a mediator at the Hôtel de Caumont. This intuition finally materialized "after shooting a rifle at a funfair. The first painting she created was a white background onto which she threw spaghetti, eggs, etc. She prepared small pockets of paint, attached them to the canvas, then fired the rifle. The moment it burst, she had her idea. Subsequently, she accumulated contemporary objects: airplanes, skulls, dolls, and lots of crocodiles."

Past traumas

Understanding Niki de Saint Phalle's work and the messages she inscribes within it also means delving into her story. Born into a bourgeois family, she had to deal with an absent mother and, above all, an incestuous father. A tragedy long hidden, but one that resurfaces in her art. "That's why we find so many snakes in her works. They represent the summer when she was a victim of her father. For her, the snake is both the tempting and redeeming animal, a symbol of rebirth," the guide continues. The male figure then resembles that of the monster. A visual artist and sculptor, Niki de Saint Phalle creates works populated by hybrid beings, inspired by mythology (the Minotaur) or pop culture (Godzilla), onto which she projects masculine symbolism. Bunches of grapes between the crotches or upright carrots become symbols of an aggressive, destructive virility.

Feminist Fairy Tale

Among the works presented in Aix, four bas-reliefs also deal with the fairy tale… but in the manner of Niki de Saint Phalle: in a dark way. "She doesn't want a princess: she wants a heroine. She gets married, she has everything she needs, but the man has the form of a devil," explains Laura Loghrieb. "It's a constant with her: she always uses an animal form to represent men. She also said that when they are in love, they are beasts, and when they are angry, it is the monster within them that overflows." In these paintings, the material is omnipresent. Painting becomes sculpture, far from academic codes.

A room is also dedicated to "midwives," including The Broken Woman and The Birth of the Bull . "Here, she plays on the monstrous, provocative, and disturbing side. She wants to show men that giving birth is painful—even more so in the 1960s, when there were no epidurals. At that time, women's bodies did not belong to them: abortion was against the law."

Committed "Nanas"

Just after these meaningful works, a whole other universe opens up to the visitor: a room representing all the components of Niki de Saint Phalle's universe. A colorful space, dominated by blue, green, white, and black. In these representations, a bird. "If we had to compare Niki de Saint Phalle to an animal, it would be a bird. She said that, as a child, she lived in a gilded cage and that when she grew up, she freed her wings." Finally, the Nanas appear. The first have black skin. "She supported the cause of Martin Luther King. She has a very famous Nana named Rosa , like Rosa Parks." On the second floor of the Hôtel de Caumont, the Nanas find their place. "They are free and independent women, in harmony with nature. She said: 'Black Power exists, why can't Nana Power exist?' " Hearts, flowers, and bursting patterns adorn these Nanas , "deviant women with small heads, whose mere presence is enough to impose change. When they are there, something happens. A way of saying that matriarchy would be more beneficial to our society." Understanding this is understanding all of Niki de Saint Phalle's work.

Learn more

Caumont - Art Center, Aix-en-Provence. Until October 5. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 16 euros, reduced from 11.50 to 15 euros.