PS1’s new Niki de Saint Phalle exhibition features NYC artist who ‘was always pushing boundaries’
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An exhibition opening Thursday at MoMA PS1 celebrates the work of artist Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo by Kyle Knodell courtesy MoMA PS1
By Rachel Vick
A new exhibit featuring a collection of nearly 200 works from acclaimed French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle opens Thursday at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, offering visitors a chance to engage with pieces that confront challenging subject matter.
“Structures from Life” showcases Saint Phalle’s work across decades and artistic mediums, including sculptures that highlight her “groundbreaking” social and political statements, said PS1 curator Ruba Katrib.
“I hope that visitors gain a better understanding of an artist who was always pushing boundaries and working towards reaching the broadest audiences possible and found innovative ways of doing so,” Katrib said.
Among the works — spanning the decades from the 1960s until Saint Phalle’s death in 2002 — is “Tarot Garden.” The large installation was originally a sculpture park in Rome and displayed models, prints, photographs and videos.
The piece is based off the Major Arcana cards from a tarot deck and depicts cards like The High Priestess and The Fool through elements of the “monumental sculpture park that she worked on for over 20 years,” Katrib said.
“This was [Saint Phalle’s] life’s work and it is important to see how so much of her other work led up to and centered around this major project,” she added.
“Structures from Life” includes previously unseen artworks, an illustrated book meant to destigmatize HIV/AIDS, and examinations of other sculptural works that had been installed across the world.
Katrib said her focus was contextualizing and informing viewers of “Saint Phalle’s groundbreaking work in the public sphere, and in a way, reintroduce her to New York audiences.”
The exhibition is on display at MoMA PS1 through Sept. 6. Reservations are required to ensure social distancing and can be made online.
