A Grand Palace for Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Pontus Hulten

A free, explosive, visionary woman....

An artist who knew how to speak of love, anger, femininity, society, with ever joyous audacity. Monumental, intimate, playful, political: Niki's entire universe unfolds within the galleries of the Grand Palais, from June 20, 2025 to January 4, 2026, like a fireworks display of ideas and forms.

The exhibition, immersive and generous, places her work at the heart of a dialogue that is both artistic, intimate, and historical.

Niki de Saint Phalle is a cry of joy, anger, and love. Her Nanas, sculptures with colorful and voluptuous forms, have become pop and feminine icons, as powerful as they are dancing. But Niki also means assumed transgression: her Tirs performances, where she would make the canvas explode with rifle shots, triggered ritual violence to release the paint. The exhibition takes you through all these contrasting territories, from gentleness to subversion, from introspection to excess.

Far from being alone in this creative adventure, Niki formed an unforgettable duo with the sculptor Jean Tinguely, a companion in life and invention. Together, they built a two-voiced work, between joyful mechanics and luminous baroque. Their pieces dialogue here as they once did in their home-studio: noisy machines, articulated creatures, improbable assemblies... A living theater of free art.

To better understand this mythical couple of contemporary art, it was also necessary to evoke the benevolent presence of Pontus Hultén, founding figure of the Centre Pompidou, bold curator, and great friend of the duo. Thanks to him, their works found their place very early on in institutions. This exhibition pays a vibrant tribute to this creation trilogy: the artist, his accomplice, and the enlightened viewer.

As visitors walk through the Galleries of the Grand Palais, they also discover monumental works – models of the Tarot Garden, immersive installations, films, handwritten letters – that tell the story of a woman possessed, sometimes haunted, but always traversed by light. A light she shared with passion, conviction, and humor, turning her work into an act of care.

In this event exhibition, you will encounter her famous Nanas with generous and dancing forms, true feminine and festive totems, but also her more intimate, engaged, sometimes dark works. For Niki, it is a joy that hides nothing: that of a woman shooting her paintings, building mosaic cathedrals, and dreaming of re-enchanted worlds. The exhibition, teeming, immerses you in her imagination: monumental sculptures, immersive installations, archival videos, models of her gardens... You come out moved, smiling, stimulated, shaken. You come out alive.

And after the intensity of the gesture, it's time for regained softness. To extend this visit with an even more sensory pleasure, settle down at the table of the brand new Grand Café, in the heart of the Grand Palais. In this elegant, mineral decor bathed in light, French cuisine is expressed with freshness and refinement: seasonal asparagus, Landes poultry, perfect egg and light cream, red fruits on lemon shortbread... Each dish is an ephemeral painting, each bite a reverence to the French art of living.

The terrace, nestled against the colonnades, is one of the best-kept secrets of the moment: a peaceful and chic place, ideal for letting the emotion of a visit settle.

Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Pontus Hulten, the Centre Pompidou, and the Galleries of the Grand Palais: this exceptional constellation lights up again for all those who love art when it takes risks, when it moves, when it dares.

And it is also the spirit we cultivate at Hôtel de Lille, in Saint-Germain-des-Prés: welcoming curious sensibilities, free gazes, souls in search of emotions.

Stay with us, and make this exhibition an unforgettable chapter of your Parisian summer.

Information: Grand Palais

Colombe de la Taille