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Rémi Deligeon
Les événements

exhibitionNiki de Saint Phalle

Exhibition from 7th October 2022 to 5th March 2023

Niki de Saint Phalle is a French-American artist from the 1960s. Her « Tirs » and « Nanas » have earned international renown. The exhibition at the Les Abattoirs shows the rich and complex work of the second part of the artist's career: a period that is just as playful and singular, but also marked by more freedom and independence.

The 1980s and 1990s: art in freedom

In 1978, Niki de Saint Phalle launched into the realisation of a great project, both an artistic and a living space: the « Jardin des Tarots », a set of monumental sculptures among the trees in Tuscany, which opened to the public 20 years later. Inspired by the 22 major arcana of the Tarot de Marseille, her sculptures, mosaics and fountains take up the symbols from these cards. In the middle stands the Empress, a house-sculpture in which Niki de Saint Phalle lived.

But to be able to undertake the construction of this gigantic work, and to design it according to her will, she would need to be financially independent. 
Luckily for her, in order to achieve this she had a few aces up her sleeve...

She began to create everyday objects that she would produce in several copies and put up for sale. This production allowed her to become her own patron (the income from the perfume she launched in 1982 alone financed a third of the garden) but also to share her art directly with the public.
Indeed, Niki de Saint Phalle wanted to make art accessible to all: through the furniture and objects she sold (lamps, armchairs, tables, chairs, jewellery, etc.) or by regularly creating monumental works for public spaces.

The exhibition

Once past the huge moucharaby of inflatable chicks, the Loch Ness monster welcomes visitors to the museum's large nave. The side rooms conceal elements of the Tarot Garden as well as perfume bottles, dresses, jewellery and other furniture.
It features an extraordinary bestiary: bats, killer whales, or even her totem animal, the snake, both attractive and frightening, which is found in many of her creations.

Exposition Niki de Saint Phalle aux Abattoirs
Rémi Deligeon

Niki de Saint Phalle was a truly committed artist. The exhibition highlights the positions she has taken on AIDS (since the 1980s), Black civil rights and global warming. Through her art, she fights, but also gives hope and courage to the people affected by these issues.

The exhibition includes nearly two hundred works and archives. While moving among her very colourful sculptures and mosaics made of ceramic or shards of mirror in which it is possible to play with reflections, the visitor shares the imagination of the artist and discovers a playful work, full of joy and energy, which lends itself to all ages. 

Note: there’s also a creative space for children (we’re quite sure adults will be intrigued by this too!).

Practicalinformation

Les Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse
Exhibition from 7th October 2022 to 5th March 2023

Exposition Niki de Saint Phalle aux Abattoirs
Rémi Deligeon
Exposition Niki de Saint Phalle aux Abattoirs
Rémi Deligeon

Opening times
Open from Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm to 6pm
Late opening, Thursday until 8pm (only outside of school holidays).
Closed: 25th December, 1st January, 1st May.

Rates
Full rate: €9. Children from 13 to 17 years, students : €6.
€3 Thursdays at Les Abattoirs, from 6pm.
Free entry with the Tourism Pass and on the 1st Sunday of every month.