Reopened in stages since summer 2024, this Friday, June 20 marks the full reopening of all areas of the jewel that is the Grand Palais. To inaugurate the revival of this historic monument, art aficionados will be treated to three XXL exhibitions of remarkable depth… The most monumental? The brilliant retrospective on the fantastical art of Niki de Saint Phalle and her husband Jean Tinguely, through the lens of their friend, Swedish curator Pontus Hulten. A perfect excuse to once again roam the splendid halls of the Grand Palais.
Partners in art
While the name Niki de Saint Phalle, undisputed queen of 20th-century art, surely rings a bell, contemporary art lovers are equally in awe of her husband, sculptor Jean Tinguely. The two lovers saw each other as both their main inspiration and their greatest rival, leading to colossal collaborations that merged the whimsical minds of their two worlds. The result is crystal clear: Saint Phalle’s colorful, girl-power universe blends masterfully with the poetic, recycled sculptures from her husband’s urban world. One of their most famous examples can easily be spotted near Beaubourg, where the brilliant Fontaine Stravinsky stands as a wild work of art. Their vision of art for everyone—multidisciplinary and participatory—extended both to their grandiose joint creations and their personal work. Behind many of these creative processes and exhibitions by the duo, united by unbreakable artistic bonds: curator Pontus Hulten.
When love sparks vision
This tribute to art’s most famous couple would never have come to life without Pontus Hulten, a contemporary art curator who became their close friend—and the very first director of the Centre Pompidou! A blessing for the two artists, who enjoyed Hulten’s unwavering support, notably through his acquisition of their works and through two retrospectives at Pompidou: one for Saint Phalle in 1980, and one for Tinguely in 1988. The works exhibited during those retrospectives can now be admired at the Grand Palais, first in conversation with one another, then in rooms dedicated to each artist individually.
The Swede also supported and enabled their outsize installation projects, both at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm with the giant sculpture Hon / Elle (literally “the penetrable chick,” in 1966), and at the Centre Pompidou in Paris with Le Crocrodrome de Zig & Puce and its carnival elements, in 1977. The journey toward realizing these works is retraced throughout the exhibition. Still, here’s our personal favorite: L'enfer, un petit début, a gigantic piece by Tinguely that calls for a few moments of pause to see it come to life. But we’re also in love with the final space devoted to Queen Niki, where her funky paintings are brought to life thanks to Jean’s mechanical magic… So romantic.
A dynamic retrospective, filled with art, love, friendship, and commitment, highlighting the shared artistic provocation of the three protagonists, and perfectly illustrating how their relationships influenced each other's artistic journeys.
Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Pontus Hulten, from June 20, 2025 to January 4, 2026 at the Grand Palais.
