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Cision Canada
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE - THE 1980s AND 1990s: ART UNLEASHED - A legendary career driven by joy and humanity Français
This major international exhibition's Canadian premiere is being held at the MNBAQ from June 12, 2025, to January 4, 2026, celebrating the remarkable freedom that the French-American artist enjoyed in the 1980s and '90s, the last two decades of her career. The Québec City exhibition brings together over 150 works—sculptures, paintings, drawings, and art books—to provide a fascinating glimpse into the profound, inventive, dedicated, and colourful world of this leading figure in contemporary art. A FREE ARTIST Niki de Saint Phalle came to fame in the 1960s and '70s for her Tirs (paintings made by shooting canvas with a rifle), her involvement in the Nouveau Réalisme movement, and the flamboyant symbols of women's liberation known as Nanas. However, her late work in the 1980s and '90s also deserves recognition; for the artist, these iconic decades were characterized by great creative freedom, financial independence, and a passionate dedication to universal causes. Art history tends to overlook the final decades of an artist's career, especially when the artist is a woman. The exhibition, produced in collaboration with Les Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse and with the generous support of the Niki Charitable Art Foundation, starts in 1978. This was the year the artist began construction on the monumental Tarot Garden in Italy, a project that would become both a home and a celebration of art by the time it opened in 1998. Inspired by Antoni Gaudí's Parc Güell in Barcelona, Niki de Saint Phalle created a park of 22 monumental sculptures representing the Major Arcana in the tarot deck. The park's walls, arcades, and winding streets turn it into a miniature town resembling a medieval Italian city. At the time, the artist was particularly interested in bringing art to the people. "For me, art and life are the same. That's why my sculptures are part of people's everyday lives." – Niki de Saint Phalle Niki de Saint Phalle brought art to the public in a multitude of ways, many of which eschewed conventional venues for art. In particular, she created numerous pieces for public spaces. Beyond the Tarot Garden, other remarkable works include the famous Stravinsky Fountain, which she co-created with Jean Tinguely opposite the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and Queen Califia's Magical Circle, a sculpture park in Escondido, California. In a bid to democratize art by making it accessible to everyone, and to transform everyday life into something exceptional, Niki de Saint Phalle also created artist's furniture (armchairs, tables, vases, lamps, mirrors), books, jewellery, and perfumes. In fact, it was her eponymous perfume, launched in 1982, that allowed her to become her own patron. Her bold entrepreneurial model was criticized at the time, but today it's recognized as avant-garde. JOY, AN UNEXPECTED FORCE "Having been a long-time rebel with a rifle […] I am giving something back to society. I want to bring people joy. […] I understood that there is nothing more shocking than joy." – Niki de Saint Phalle The artist also used joy as a strategy of resistance against violence and injustice, which is reflected in the motifs that ran through the featured decades: colourful monsters, sculptures covered in mosaics and mirrors, animals and Nanas, hearts and skulls. EMBRASSER PLUSIEURS CAUSES UNIVERSELLES Niki de Saint Phalle fought for social justice by getting involved in numerous causes, from the fight for women's rights and the fight against racism to the protection of animals and the environment. She was also one of the earliest supporters of AIDS sufferers. Her dedication to feminism and the environment, along with the fact that she saw all living things—human, plant, and animal alike—as interdependent, made her a pioneer of ecofeminism. By embracing all living beings, nature, and the circle of life, Niki de Saint Phalle's art appeals to our emotions. What a privilege to celebrate her work and her contribution to art history in Québec City! SPECTACULAR, INSPIRED DESIGN "As in all fairy tales, before finding the treasure I encountered dragons, witches, magicians and the Angel of Temperance." – Niki de Saint Phalle One of the most striking aspects of the exhibition's design is its use of arches, which come in a variety of forms to elegantly mark the transitions between the nine different sections. They recall the architectural details of the Tarot Garden and represent gateways between the real and the imaginary. Their colours echo the palette that characterizes the artist's work. The blue is a nod to the Mediterranean basin where the Tarot Garden is located, while the light pink is inspired by the ceramic covering one of the Garden's sculptures, that of the Empress. The bright pink is a recurring colour in Saint Phalle's work, the white represents unpainted sculptures, and the yellow pays tribute to the deserts of California, where the artist spent her final days. The explosion of brilliant colours is sure to delight MNBAQ visitors! IMMERSIVE TOUCHES To bring the adventure of the Tarot Garden to life for visitors in Québec City, a film crew was tasked with producing a video of the masterpiece in Italy. Through a series of bird's-eye and up-close shots, visitors can explore different perspectives on the characters who populate this wholly unique green space and, above all, enjoy the creative genius Niki de Saint Phalle brought to the last 20 years of her career. This video fits into the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec's innovative new approach to exhibition design, which involves creating immersive experiences that appeal to multiple senses and designing settings that encourage contemplation and consideration. To that end, visitors will be able to enjoy a collection of audio and video elements as they move through the exhibition. STRONG, STRIKING WORKS This exhibition, an homage to the imaginary, is divided into nine themes: The Snake Lady's Bestiary, Exploring the Tarot Garden, The Project of a Lifetime, The Skinnies, Living with Art, Fighting through Art, Writing the Self, The American Years, and Monumental Niki de Saint Phalle. One of the exhibition's main attractions is the Arbre Serpents. This tree, an intriguing giant that unites earth and sky, occupies a special place in Saint Phalle's work. It's a fountain sculpture that echoes the Tree of Life in the Tarot Garden. Its branches are massive snakes: an animal that represents the cycle of life, and which the artist found equal parts frightening and fascinating. The maquette of the Sphinx is one of the original maquettes that Niki de Saint Phalle designed for the monumental Empress sculpture in the Tarot Garden. The artist had dreamt of living in one of her sculptures and actually lived in the Empress ' belly for a few years as she supervised construction on her fantastical Garden. La Femme bleue serves as an introduction to Saint Phalle's Skinnies series. These sculptures, made of threadlike tubes, explore empty space and the play of light. La Femme bleue can also be seen as a mythical feminine figure bearing various esoteric symbols like the moon, stars, and a hand, which is both a symbol of protection and representative of The Magician's hand in the tarot deck. Le Banc des générations is a tribute to Niki de Saint Phalle's family; it features her great-grandson Djamal in a lovely polka-dot tie. This bench comes in three different colours, all produced in the same year. The iteration displayed at the MNBAQ is unique. It comes from the collection of the Mingei International Museum in San Diego and sports particularly vivid colours. The drawings in AIDS: You Can't Catch It Holding Hands attest to the artist's ability to share information on a difficult subject with humour and tenderness, in the form of a letter to her children. It focuses on deeply human, loving relationships. The artist was also aware of the importance of representing racialized groups in public spaces, leading her to create the Black Heroes sculpture series. With these sculptures, she pays tribute to athletes Michael Jordan and Tony Gwynn, as well as artists such as Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, and Josephine Baker. The Angel of Temperance can be seen in the giant glass-walled showcase that is the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion's Grand Hall. This golden-winged Nana, over five meters tall, closely resembles the Temperance sculpture in the Tarot Garden. "Very early on, I decided to become a heroine. Who would I be? George Sand? Joan of Arc? Napoleon in a skirt? Whatever I ended up doing, I wanted it to be difficult, exciting, spectacular." – Niki de Saint Phalle, 1999 A self-taught artist, Niki de Saint Phalle was born in 1930 in Neuilly-sur-Seine in a noble family. Although she was born in France, she spent her youth in New York before returning to Europe in 1952 with her first husband, writer Harry Mathews (1930-2017), with whom she had two children and from whom she separated after several years. She first worked as a model and made her debut in the theatre. In 1953, she was hospitalized for depression and began to paint and produce collages. She abandoned the theatre and chose art as a form of life and survival. In 1956, she settled in the Impasse Ronsin, the locale of artists' studios in Paris, where she met sculptor Jean Tinguely, who became her life partner in 1960. Starting in 1961, she was the only woman artist associated with the group of new realists, and she developed her practice in opposition to convention. She produced shooting paintings. For two years, destruction sustained by rage and determination enabled her to reconstruct painting differently. In 1966, the Nanas became the most celebrated portion of her work, including Hon ("she" in Swedish), a monumental Nana. This army of Nanas in numerous shapes and colours is an artistic and feminist assertion, assumed and reasserted, in which we can all recognize ourselves. In 1967, Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely visited Montréal to present Le Paradis fantastique on the terrace of the French pavilion at Expo 67. In 1978, she launched the construction of the Tarot Garden in Garavicchio (Capalbio, Italy), whose monumental sculptures are inspired by the major arcana of the tarot game. She worked for 20 years in this garden of wonders. The park opened in 1998. While her output in the 1960s and 1970s and the couple that she formed with Jean Tinguely, nicknamed the Bonnie and Clyde of art, are well known, it is also important to point out other facets of her work and life, especially her works from the period 1980 to 1990, marked by her social and political commitments, and her tremendous contribution to the artistic freedom of women. In 1980, the Centre Georges-Pompidou devoted a retrospective spanning 30 years of her career, which took stock from another angle of the work of Niki de Saint Phalle and included her on the list of great French women artists. Her works are presented in the foremost museum collections: the Centre Pompidou (Paris); the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris (Paris); the Moderna Museet (Stockholm); Tate Modern (London); the Sprengel Museum Hannover (Hanover); the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, DC); The Museum of Modern Art (New York); the Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain (Nice); the Musée des Arts décoratifs (Paris); and the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York), among others. Niki de Saint Phalle died of respiratory failure at the San Diego Hospital on May 21, 2002. DIVE DEEPER WITH AN AUDIO GUIDE Creating, Resisting, Loving: Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1980s and 1990s An audio tour gives visitors the chance to dive even deeper into the incredibly rich world Niki de Saint Phalle created over the last two decades of her career. Some twenty stations introduce key works that highlight everything from her artistic experimentation to her feminist, environmental, and social activism. From the Tarot Garden to the most unexpected mediums, visitors will see how Saint Phalle blurred the lines between art and life, dream and reality, while turning joy into a true strategy of resistance. It's a fascinating exploration of the life of this French-American artist. Bring your headphones! TO LISTEN, click here! NEW! THROUGH A CHILD'S EYES To make the exhibition more inclusive for families, the MNBAQ has thoughtfully prepared special panels along the pathway. They're close to the works and easy to identify and read. In fact, you could even say it's child's play! With playful questions, suggestions for elements to focus on, and open-ended explorations, the panels help families enjoy an interactive, thought-provoking visit. They encourage parents and children to talk about the works, providing opportunities to share opinions and questions. The 12 panels are spread along the entire route and cover the works of Niki de Saint Phalle as an artist, and the themes she explored in her art. We bet that plenty of adults will also be curious enough to read them and follow this new path! MARGIE GILLIS DANCES NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE In conjunction with the exhibition, the Festival Quartiers Danses (FQD) has orchestrated a performance of pieces by the Margie Gillis Dance Foundation that draw inspiration from Niki de Saint Phalle's work. The renowned choreographer and dancer, along with the artists of the Legacy Project, will celebrate freedom of expression as well as women's creative power and profound connection to the world. The performance is being held on Sunday, June 15 at 2 p.m. in the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Sandra and Alain Bouchard Auditorium. On the program: a recent solo by Margie Gillis, Remembered Premonitions, created in 2024 for the FQD and performed to original music by Niko Friesen. Next, the Legacy Project dancers will perform The Whole Bloomin' Thing, a dance inspired by James Joyce that explores his seminal work Ulysses. A dance celebration you won't want to miss. CREDITS Niki de Saint Phalle – The 1980s and 1990s : Art Unleashed, An exhibition produced by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in collaboration with les Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse and with the participation of the Niki Charitable Art Foundation. The exhibition has received financial support from the Gouvernement du Québec and the Ville de Québec under the Entente de développement culturel. MANAGEMENT Jean-Luc MURRAY, Director General, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Anik DORION-COUPAL, Director of Exhibitions and International Partnerships, MNBAQ CURATORSHIP AND DIDACTIC TEXTS Maude LÉVESQUE, concept adaptation and texts, MNBAQ Annabelle TÉNÈZE, concept and original texts, Les Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse MUSÉE NATIONAL DES BEAUX-ARTS DU QUÉBEC TEAM Loïc LEFEBVRE, Exhibition Designer Philippe LEGRIS, Graphic Design Coordination Claude-Olivier RICHARD, Noémie JUTEAU, Michel PELLETIER, Samuel POULIN, Jean-François ROY, Audiovisual – lighting design, video and technical integration Valérie ALLARD, Florence GARIEPY, Delphine EGESBORG, Anna-Sophie BLOUIN, Danielle BOUTIN, Éva CHATIGNY, Charlotte COUGNAUD, Jacinthe DUBE, Élisabeth GIRARD-DIONNE, Myriam DUFOUR, Agathe LEGENDRE, Claudèle MULLER, Emmanuel SIMARD, Julien ST-GEORGES-TREMBLAY, Rosalie ST-ONGE, Gallery Mediation – content and guided tours EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS Marc-André ROY, Graphic Design Paolo SODI, Anastasiia LAPITKSAIA, Dario FEDELE, Guglielmo BALDINI, Video Production – Tarot Garden PARTNERS AND LENDERS LES ABATTOIRS, MUSÉE – FRAC OCCITANIE TOULOUSE NIKI CHARITABLE ART FOUNDATION LA FONDATION DU JARDIN DES TAROTS SPECIAL THANKS To the Mingei International Museum of San Diego, to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and to all the lenders for their essential contribution to the exhibition. NIKI DE SAINT PHALLE – THE 1980S AND 1990: ART UNLEASHED Pierre Lassonde Pavilion at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec From June 12, 2025 to January 4, 2026 SOURCE Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
Cision Canada
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
/R E P E A T -- INVITATION TO THE MEDIA - Niki de Saint Phalle - The 1980s and 1990s: Art Unleashed/ Français
Immerse yourself in the varied, inventive, committed universe of Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002), an outstanding 20th-century figure. QUÉBEC, May 21, 2025 /CNW/ - Discover the strength and resilience of this French-American artist who chose joy as a resistance strategy to contribute to social justice and environmental protection by producing an irresistible multiform body of work. Motivated by the desire to make the world a magical place again, the artist participated in the new realism movement and freely reinvented reality. The effervescent, colourful exhibition covers the years 1980 and 1990 when Niki de Saint Phalle undertook the monumental Tarot Garden in Italy. This monograph assembles over 150 works comprising sculptures, paintings, drawings, engravings, books, and fine art objects. Take advantage of this Canadian premiere, produced through a collaboration with Les Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse and the generous participation of the Niki Charitable Art Foundation. Savour the unsuspected power of art and joy. Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 10 a.m. Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Grand Hall of the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion 179, Grande Allée Ouest Québec (Québec) G1R 2H1 Interviews are possible at the conclusion of the press visit with: Jean-Luc MURRAY, Director General, MNBAQ Anik DORION-COUPAL, Director of Exhibitions and International Partnerships, MNBAQ Maude L É VESQUE, Exhibition Curator, MNBAQ Annabelle T É N È ZE, Exhibition Curator, Director of the Louvre-Lens Lucia PESAPANE, Independent Exhibition Curator Maryline DUNAUD, Director, Administration and Finance, Les Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse Marcelo ZITELLI, Director, Niki Charitable Art Foundation, collaborator and a friend of Niki de Saint Phalle
Cision Canada
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
INVITATION TO THE MEDIA - Niki de Saint Phalle - The 1980s and 1990s: Art Unleashed Français
Immerse yourself in the varied, inventive, committed universe of Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002), an outstanding 20th-century figure. QUÉBEC, May 21, 2025 /CNW/ - Discover the strength and resilience of this French-American artist who chose joy as a resistance strategy to contribute to social justice and environmental protection by producing an irresistible multiform body of work. Motivated by the desire to make the world a magical place again, the artist participated in the new realism movement and freely reinvented reality. The effervescent, colourful exhibition covers the years 1980 and 1990 when Niki de Saint Phalle undertook the monumental Tarot Garden in Italy. This monograph assembles over 150 works comprising sculptures, paintings, drawings, engravings, books, and fine art objects. Take advantage of this Canadian premiere, produced through a collaboration with Les Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse and the generous participation of the Niki Charitable Art Foundation. Savour the unsuspected power of art and joy. Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 10 a.m. Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec Grand Hall of the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion 179, Grande Allée Ouest Québec (Québec) G1R 2H1 RESERVE NOW Linda Tremblay, Press Officer [email protected] 418 262-4681 Interviews are possible at the conclusion of the press visit with: Jean-Luc MURRAY, Director General, MNBAQ Anik DORION-COUPAL, Director of Exhibitions and International Partnerships, MNBAQ Maude L É VESQUE, Exhibition Curator, MNBAQ Annabelle T É N È ZE, Exhibition Curator, Director of the Louvre-Lens Lucia PESAPANE, Independent Exhibition Curator Maryline DUNAUD, Director, Administration and Finance, Les Abattoirs, Musée – Frac Occitanie Toulouse Marcelo ZITELLI, Director, Niki Charitable Art Foundation, collaborator and a friend of Niki de Saint Phalle
Cision Canada
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
Fiona Annis will produce the public artwork at the Riopelle Space Français
A Tale of Sources will celebrate Québec nature and culture QUÉBEC CITY, May 6, 2025 /CNW/ - In the wake of a rigorous process launched in the spring of 2024, Jean-Luc Murray, Director General of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, and Eve-Lyne Beaudry, Director of Collections and Research, are pleased to announce the artist selected in the context of a province-wide competition to integrate the arts into architecture and the environment of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec. Multidisciplinary artist Fiona Annis, a native of Glasgow who has lived and worked in Montréal for 20 years, is the winner of the competition. A Tale of Sources is the title of the work that the artist has imagined. The installation exhibited in four scenes that are integrated into the landscaping of the future Riopelle Space. The work will punctuate the pedestrian corridor that will link the front and rear courtyards of the new building. It will act as a poetic link between the past and the future and urbanity and the park. "We were seeking a work to be exhibited on the entire site, thereby creating a dialogue with architecture. Her sculpture will significantly mark the arrival of visitors to the Riopelle Space by perfectly integrating into the landscaped environment of the new pavilion designed by Les architectes fabg. In addition to meeting all our expectations, we were charmed by the depth of Fiona Annis' creative approach, her ecological choices, and the striking links established with the works of Jean Paul Riopelle. Her poetry and sensitivity will undoubtedly touch the hearts and minds of visitors," jointly noted Jean-Luc Murray, Director General of the MNBAQ, and Eve-Lyne Beaudry, Director of Collections and Research at the MNBAQ. An emblematic work at the heart of a highly significant site "I sought to produce an original work that tells multiple stories and also honours the heritage of a renowned Québec artist who constantly explored his territory of origin. I want to produce a visual, poetic reference point that will mark the physical and social landscape of the MNBAQ and create a celebration of nature and culture." Fiona Annis A Tale of Sources will celebrate Québec nature and culture Fiona Annis has imagined a series of four cast-bronze scenes that include elements in marble and steel. The vibrant, dynamic colours will evoke Perce-neige (1956), the first painting by Jean Paul Riopelle that the MNBAQ acquired. The Invitation features a ladder and a circular gate, elements that invite us to jump and dash. They also propose a poetic reflection on impermanence or perpetual transformation. The interplay of the bronze ring's texture brings to mind the visual vocabulary of Riopelle's works. The Convergence of Time proposes three imaginary figures pierced with a hole that represent transmission and encounters between eras. Their configuration will evoke story circles and the spirit of campfires. The Encounter with Territory will present three creatures grouped together around a suspended full moon. They will evoke the crane, a recurring motif in Riopelle's work, in particular in Homage to Rosa Luxemburg, to which will be added yellow birch bark and roots, emblematic symbols of Québec. Yellow birch, a species native to Québec, becomes a metaphor to illustrate the resilience of Québec's inhabitants. The Connection of Knowledge will be represented by an inviting raft that evokes travel and adventure. The fourth scene conjures up the rafts used by log drivers to transport timber on Québec's river system, an apposite historic allusion. Ecology at the heart of creativity Aside from the inspired concept of Fiona Annis' work, the ecological dimension of her approach enhances her project. The production of the sculpture hinges on environmental ethics that respect the materials and produce a minimum of residues. The use of organic materials prior to casting the bronze and the lost-wax technique will make this sculpture a unique work while avoiding the residues that the moulds engender. Production in June 2026 Fiona Annis will direct the work's production, which entails demanding technical requirements. The artist will collaborate with the Inverness Bronze Workshop to produce (casting, assembly), finish, transport, and install the elements of the sculpture. The overall project budget is $309 233. The four sculptural scenes are slated for installation on the site of the future Riopelle Space in the spring of 2026. Fiona Annis, in a nutshell Fiona Annis was born in Glasgow in 1983 and raised in Manitoba. She lives and works in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal). The artist has a sustained commitment to analogical materials and processes and melds historical and deeply contemporary perspectives. She has exhibited her work in artists' centres, galleries, and museums in Canada and abroad, including the Fondation Guido Molinari in Montréal, the Institut AC in New York, the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montréal, Goldsmiths, University of London, the Museo Novecento in Naples, VU Photo in Québec City, and The Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton. Her works are found in the collections of the Musée de la civilisation de Québec, the City of Ottawa Public Art Collection, and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. Fiona Annis has received several national and international grants, including the Brucebo Foundation travel award with a residency at the Observatoire de Capodimonte in Naples; the Jarislowsky Award, with a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts; and the Fonds de recherche québécois pour la société et la culture, with a residency at the Penumbra Foundation in New York. The artist holds a master's degree from the Glasgow School of Art and an interdisciplinary doctorate from Concordia University. She is the co-founder of the artists'collective The Society of Affective Archives. The competition in a nutshell The Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec launched a province-wide competition in April 2024 in the context of the Politique d'intégration des arts à l'architecture et à l'environnement des bâtiments et des sites gouvernementaux et publics for the creation of the public artwork outside the future Riopelle Space of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. The selection committee comprising representatives of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communication, the MNBAQ, Les architectes fabg, and visual arts specialists, selected five finalists: Fiona Annis, Marie-France Brière, Marc-Antoine Côté, Luca Fortin, and Gilles Mihalcean. Each finalist received $15 000 to design a mock-up. Fiona Annis won this competition. In late spring 2026, the public will discover A Tale of Sources, to be installed in the pedestrian corridor of the future Riopelle Space. The Riopelle Space has a budget of $84 million, with contributions from several public and private partners, i.e., the Québec government, Québec City, the founding members of the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation, and the Fondation du MNBAQ. It will meld perfectly with the existing museum complex and become a harmonious link between the Gérard Morisset Pavilion, the Charles Baillairgé Pavilion, and the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion in addition to enhancing the experience of visitors and all art enthusiasts. It will permanently house the world's biggest public collection of Riopelle's works, enhanced by donations and historic loans from collectors and patrons including Michael Audain, Pierre Lassonde, France Chrétien Desmarais, André Desmarais, and Yseult Riopelle. The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is a state corporation funded by the Gouvernement du Québec.
