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April 27-October 31, 2008
For 24-hour recorded general information, please call the GardenLine at (314) 577-9400 (or 1-800-642-8842 toll free).
Media inquiries, please contact the Public Relations Department at (314) 577-0254 or (314) 577-5141 during weekday business hours.
Niki in the Garden
'Niki' Opens at the Missouri Botanical Garden Apr. 27
Missouri Botanical Garden Presents 'Niki' in 2008
Niki Visitor Information
Niki Biography
Niki Monograph Bio
(300 dpi)
Photos may be downloaded for use by the media and may not be used for commercial purposes. Please credit as shown.
High resolution images from the sculpture tour are also available. For more information, please contact the Missouri Botanical Garden's Public Relations Department at (314) 577-0254 or (314) 577-5141 during weekday business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday).
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Niki de Saint Phalle
La Cabeza, 1999
Photo Credit:
Heather Marie Osborn,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Polyurethane foam, resin, steel armature, mille fiori glass, glass pebbles, tumbled stones, and stained and mirrored glass
Height: 14.2 ft.
Weight: 12,000 lbs
Origin: USA
Download:
High Resolution Image
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Le Temple idèal
The scale of a playhouse, Niki originally conceived the idea in the early 1970s as a response to religious intolerance she observed while working in Jerusalem. She proposed a chapel where all religions could come together in peace. This sculpture was actually a study for a building that Niki wanted to create for the new millennium.
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Niki de Saint Phalle
Le Temple idèal, 1991
Photo Credit:
Erin Whitson,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Painted polyester, mirrored mosaic, and gold leaf
Height: 13 ft.
Weight: 1,542 lbs.
Origin: France
Download:
High Resolution Image |
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This is the oldest piece in the exhibition and was created at a time in Niki’s life when she was working through difficult, angry emotions.
It has not previously been seen in the United States.
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Niki de Saint Phalle
La Promenade du dimanche, 1971
Photo Credit:
Heather Marie Osborn,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Painted Polyester
Height: 6.6 ft.
Weight: 1,412 lbs.
Origin: France
Download:
High Resolution Image |
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Niki de Saint Phalle
Le Poète et sa muse, 1999
Photo Credit:
Jennifer Meinhardt,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Polyurethane foam, fiberglass resin, steel armature, stained and mirrored glass, glass pebbles, and tumbled stones
Height: 9.8 ft.
Weight: 1,390 lbs.
Private collection, Belgium
Origin: USA
This is the first exhibit of this piece in the United States.
Download:
High Resolution Image
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Niki de Saint Phalle
Buddha, 2000
Photo Credit:
Heather Marie Osborn,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Polyurethane foam, resin, steel armature, and stained and mirrored glass
Height: 9.8 ft.
Weight: 1,700 lbs.
Collection Niki Museum, Nasu, Japan
Origin: USA
This piece had not previously been seen in the United States. It was made by Niki as a gift to an art collector in Japan that had purchased many of her sculptures.
Download:
High Resolution Image |
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Over a third of the pieces in the exhibit can be touched, climbed upon and explored.
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Niki de Saint Phalle
Cat, 1999
Photo Credit:
Heather Marie Osborn,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Polyurethane foam, resin, steel armature, ceramic tiles, and tumbled stones
Height: 9 ft.
Weight: 2,300 lbs.
Origin: USA
Download:
High Resolution Image |
Niki de Saint Phalle
La Cabeza, 1999
Photo Credit:
Heather Marie Osborn,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Polyurethane foam, resin, steel armature, mille fiori glass, glass pebbles, tumbled stones, and stained and mirrored glass
Height: 14.2 ft.
Weight: 12,000 lbs.
Origin: USA
Download:
High Resolution Image |
Niki de Saint Phalle
Nikigator, 2001
Photo Credit: Heather Marie Osborn,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Origin: USA
Polyurethane foam, resin, tumbled stones, ceramic tiles, mirrored glass, and glass pebbles
Height: 7 ft. by 25 ft. long
Weight: 4,000 lbs.
Download:
High Resolution Image
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Niki's powerful, playful females decorated with hearts and flowers, called Nanas, are among her best known works. These voluptuous ladies have appeared in museums and outdoor sculpture exhibitions around the world. Nana is French for the word chick or babe in American slang. Niki celebrated women as sources of life and vitality.
Niki de Saint Phalle
Les Trois Grâces, 1999
Photo Credit:
Jennifer Meinhardt,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garde
Polyester, ceramic tile, and mirrored mosaic
Height: 8 ft.
Weight: 595 lbs. each
France
Download:
High Resolution Image
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In 1998, Niki began work on a series of Black Hero sculptures, paying tribute to prominent African-Americans. They included jazz musicians Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis, who was born and raised just across the Mississippi River in East St. Louis.
This sculpture, along with Louis Armstrong are located near the Cohen Ampitheater, home of the free Whitaker Music Festival at the Garden.
Niki de Saint Phalle
Miles Davis, 2000
Photo Credit:
Heather Marie Osborn,
Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Polyurethane foam, resin, steel armature, tumbled stones, stained and mirrored glass, and gold leaf
Height: 9 ft.
Weight: 566 lbs.
Origin: USA
Download:
High Resolution Image
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