The recently renovated Grand Palais in Paris hosts diverse exhibitions, among them, Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Pontus Hultén in the Galeries Nationales. From different backgrounds, the trio collaborated on numerous projects and its members became prominent personalities in the art world. Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002) born in an aristocratic family had a traumatic childhood which shaped her career and, of modest origins, JeanTinguely (1925-1991) grew up in Switzerland, the country of automatons. The Swedish Pontus Hultén (1924-2006) was an artist early on and became a renown museum director and art collector. Their personal and professional relationships were so entangled that mentioning one inevitably brings up the name of the two others. The famous couple Saint Phalle-Tinguely lived separated for years, but even death could not sever their bond as following Tinguely's demise, Saint Phalle took care of his legacy with Hultén's support. The major exhibition set on two levels of the building is organized in ten chapters to present the abundant material including paintings, sculptures, drawings, archival films, letters, photographs, reliefs, models, catalogues, books, posters, diaporamas, mainly from the collection of the Centre Pompidou enriched by loans from major institutions.
A lonely painting and two films in black and white from Pontus Hultén at the entrance sum up his career as an artist, while one of the series of Méta-Malevitch, Relief méta-mécanique (1954) from Tinguely awakes every ten minutes nearby. They started to collaborate in the mid-fifties, bound by a common interest in kinetic art. Gismo (1960), one of the five assemblages of wheels, discarded metal pieces, rubber, which were paraded in May 1960 in the streets of Paris takes half of the room, inert, in the way of the crowd of visitors slowly moving along a wall covered by photographs about the festive event. Letters, postcards, drawings, tell the story of the trio as their relationship evolves. From another series, Baluba (1961-1962), an amusing sculpture made of a drum and diverse objects is about a serious subject: a tribe caught in a political upheaval in Congo. The pink feather duster swaying on top was suggested by Saint Phalle. Their association goes both ways as Tinguely encourages Saint Phalle to pursue her idea of shooting at the canvas. The Shooting Paintings were born in 1961 and made her famous. One of them is hanging on the wall complemented by a video showing her in action. Among the overwhelming material (each piece is accompanied by videos, archival films of gallery openings or other social events) Tinguely's sculpture Meta-matic n° 17 (1959) allies ingenuity and aesthetics. It spews abstract drawings in a parody of abstract art and hints at the new threat from robots. A smaller version, the first of the series can be found nearby, close to a very "tinguelyan" sculpture, Sculpture méta-mécanique automobile (1954) decorated with geometric shapes of primary colors. More works on display among them L'Accouchement rose (1964), Le Monstre de Soisy (1966) from Saint Phalle or a wall relief from Tinguely, attest to the frenetic activity of the artists which flourishes with two collaborative projects, Hon-en katedral in 1966 at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm and Paradis fantastique in 1966-67 for the French pavilion at the World's Fair in Montreal. These required not only creativity but also huge and complicated logistics. Here comes Hultén who facilitated the realization of the projects and secured also a resting place for the Paradis fantastique at the Moderna Museet. The next room is occupied by one work: Meta n°3 (1970-1971) first displayed at Centre Pompidou, a monstrous machine worthy prop for a sci-fi movie with added jarring rattles and clatters when activated for a few minutes.
Moving to chapter three of the exhibition, visitors meet a panel of photographs from the Musée Tinguely then and now (1996 and 2025), a remnant of the famous Homage to New York (Klaxon) (1960) which autodestructed, movies, catalogues, a news reel from 1971, Meta-Kandinsky I (1956) and several sculptures from Tinguely coming alive one at a time. Missing the action can be frustrating with a ten to fifteen minutes wait for the next show. Le Soulier de Madame Lacasse (1960) takes a Dada flair with its proud toilet plunger and blue circle hanging from a fishing rod (a wink to Yves Klein). Across, Le Ballet des pauvres (1960) startles with its noisy non sensical accumulation of objects hanging from a large shaking metal piece for eight seconds every thirty minutes.
The next three rooms are each focused on memorable collaborative projects, starting with HON-en catedral (SHE - a cathedral). The gigantic immersive installation at the Moderna Museet had a lifespan of three months (June 4-September 4, 1966) and we can look at the abundant archival material of the well documented exhibition and a few remnants like the head. Idem for Le Crocrodrome de Zig & Puce, another playful installation which included numerous attractions at the Centre Pompidou in 1977. Both were conceived and constructed under the aegis of Hultén who brought a new vision for the museums, from a passive viewing of art to forums with interactive activities open to a diverse public. The third project, The Cyclop (1969-1994), an outdoor sculpture, took twenty-five years to build and involved the collaboration of numerous artists with various expertise due to its complex structure. The sculpture can be viewed in the Milly forest and is now preserved by the French state.
The walk up a flight of stairs to the upper level provides a break before entering a dark space where we find a selection of works from Tinguely's retrospective organized by Hultén at the Centre Pompidou in 1988. They include four sculptures of a series of thirty Philosophers, each with an attribute like feathers for Jean-Jacques Rousseau or a snail for Jacob Burckhardt, facing a self-portrait made of a wheel, long chains, pulleys, a gruesome mask and a stuffed black bird. Tinguely is loosing his humor and dwells in the macabre, as confirmed by a last showpiece: L'Enfer, un petit debut (1984). Hell, a Small Beginning is a large installation made of the accumulation of heteroclite pieces on a platform, activated at the same time, producing a discombobulating sight and a mechanical unpleasant noise, a world in chaos. On the way to the last chapters of the exhibition dedicated to works from Saint Phalle, one more sculpture of Tinguely, Rotozaza I (1967), a machine devouring and spitting balloons, attempt to deride the capitalist system, is just a quiet monster surrounded by a few benches offering a place to rest for the weary visitors. We can agree with Hultén that: "Tinguely's mechanic is not of good taste and is not attractive, it is often more frightening than beautiful." (my translation).
Niki de Saint Phalle had a solo retrospective curated by Hultén then Director of the Centre Pompidou, almost a decade before Tinguely, in 1980. The two-month-long exhibition included significant works like "Shooting Paintings"," Nanas" and large scale sculptures. The sample selected here reflects her engagement for the feminist cause with several "Nanas" who made Saint Phalle famous. Among them, Crucifixion (ca. 1965) the most provocative is a distressing sight: a powerless puppet without arms, legs open, debased by her garter and hair curlers. La Mariee (1963) of the same technique with plaster than L'Accouchement Rose seen earlier, is a clear reference to women's condition, smothered by the social pressure to conform. King Kong 1963), a large bas-relief and two light humored pieces L'Aveugle dans la prairie (1974) and La Promenade du dimanche (1971) complete the display, with added movies and archival material.
The last room brings a tinge of nostalgia and gloom with photographs of Tinguely's grand funerals (1991), letters from Niki de Saint Phalle to Tinguely in 1993, after his death, evoking "cannibalism", "communion". "I am taking your strength, your soul joins mine." Indeed, she incorporates movement in her series of Tableaux éclatés (Shattered Paintings) like Ganesh II (1992) or Jean II (Méta-Tinguely) (1992) dedicated to Tinguely. Her ties with Hultén stay strong and fruitful with the establishment of the Musée Tinguely in Switzerland, a solo exhibition in Bonn in 1992, preservation of the Tarot Garden in Italy and The Cyclop near Paris. Niki de Saint Phalle spent her last years in California.
The abundance of works and archival material, at times overwhelming, makes the show a landmark exhibition. Collective projects overlapping for years even decades render a chronological presentation futile and contribute to iterations. No museal display will recreate the excitement and fun generated by installations like Hon or the Crocrodrome or reenact the Tirs Paintings, however it provides an intimate view of the synergetic relationship between the members of the trio, even when separated by distance or worse, death. The unique setting allows the display and activation of an astounding number of works from Tinguely, bringing them to life one more time for the exhibition. Hopping from sculpture to sculpture to catch the action, we almost forget that Tinguely was not only a gifted machinist, he was a leader of the Nouveau Realism movement and the group ZERO from Düsseldorf. Niki de Saint Phalle, a self-taught artist, encompasses several artistic trends, from art brut to pop art, action painting, collective art and giant interactive installations as she engaged with the feminist movement. Pontus Hultén, the facilitator, provided an unwavering support to the two artists as he pursued his own career. In this statement, Niki de Saint Phalle acknowledged his role :" They are few essential people who cross a life. Pontus is one of them for Jean and myself" (my translation).
The trio brought crowds to the museum then, and now, one more time, entertains visitors of all backgrounds, from hardened art connoisseur to children on school trips.
