Niki de Saint Phalle | Upside Down Lady vase

Niki de Saint Phalle

Upside Down Lady vase

[n.p.] Self-published, 2000

11 x 7 7⁄8 x 11"

Edition of 8 [+4 AP] signed and numbered copies

A painted polyester resin and glazed ceramic vase in the shape of an upside down woman. From a second edition published two years before the artist's death in 2002. 

A copy of the work is up for auction at Christies in three days, with an estimate of between ten and fifteen thousand Euros. 

The work is included in the exhibition Niki & Mingei, which opens today at the Mingei International Museum and continues until October 2nd. For more information, visit the museum's website, here. 

"The exhibition Niki & Mingei will feature the work of French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930–2002) in the context of Mingei’s mission, and more specifically, how it relates to craft and design. The exhibition Niki & Mingei will feature fantastic furniture and furnishings by French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

Multimedia artist Niki de Saint Phalle is a long-beloved icon at Mingei. Saint Phalle's connection to the Museum goes back to her later years spent in La Jolla, where she befriended Mingei’s founder, Martha Longenecker. Her artwork, in one form or another, has consistently been on view at Mingei ever since. Drawn from Mingei's permanent collection and select loans, the objects in this exhibition offer a playful and colorful contrast to purely functional living. Whether it’s a vase sporting colorful acrobatic legs or a wooden chair with gem-studded snakes, this exhibition speaks to an important yet under-recognized part of Saint Phalle's prodigious career in San Diego."

- press release