San Diego’s breathtaking landscapes, sunny outlook and innovative spirit, not only draw visitors to the destination but have served as inspiration for writers, painters and sculptors, such as internationally renowned artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002). Born in France and raised in the United States and Europe, Saint Phalle moved to La Jolla, San Diego’s seaside jewel, later in her life to improve her mental and physical health, going as far as to call her time in La Jolla a “resurrection.” Embraced by the local community, Saint Phalle created playful, vibrant, sacred and inviting oversized sculptures that are now on display throughout San Diego, making it home to one of the highest concentrations of her artwork in the world.
Saint Phalle’s early work and evolution can be experienced at nine different public art structures and at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla, which chose her as its first special exhibition after a major four-year renovation. Visitors can explore Saint Phalle’s colorful world at these San Diego locations:
Museum of Contemporary Art La Jolla Due to her influence as the only woman in the New Realists, a group of French avant-gardists, and because of her close ties to San Diego, the newly transformed
Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego in La Jolla reopened its doors in April 2022, showcasing “Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1960s.” The exhibition, which runs until July 17, 2022, explores Saint Phalle’s early years by showcasing numerous works from European collections that are on display in the United States for the first time. It also explores two of her most significant series: the Tirs, or “shooting paintings” and the exuberant sculptures of women that she called Nanas and, in the process, demonstrates her importance in art history while highlighting her forward-thinking exploration of feminism as well as her embrace of performance and participation in the creation of art.
UC San Diego Just up the hill from the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art in the Village of
La Jolla is Saint Phalle’s towering
Sun God (1983), an exuberantly colored, fourteen-foot bird and a revered landmark on the sprawling UC San Diego campus. Each spring students celebrate the Sun God Festival, the largest event sponsored by the UCSD Associated Students.
Sun God was her first outdoor commission in America and the first piece commissioned by the famed
Stuart Collection, an assemblage of more than 20 sculptures from renowned artists.
Barbarella RestaurantFor those who want to feast their eyes on Saint Phalle’s elaborate mosaics while filling up on delicious Italian food, a stop at
Barbarella Restaurant in the La Jolla Shores neighborhood should be on the itinerary. Owned by Barbara Beltaire, a close friend of the artist for more than two decades, Saint Phalle’s distinctive style is seen in the graphic design, pizza oven, and a vase filled with gladiolas above the open-air bar (2000). Beltaire has joked that Saint Phalle wanted to cover everything in mosaic and, “if Niki had her way, my whole restaurant would have been Niki.”
Mingei Museum in Balboa ParkBalboa Park is home to two Saint Phalle creations: The
Nikigator (2001), a lively rendering of a dragon and veritable kid-magnet with its gleaming green mosaic tiles, stationed at the front entrance of the recently revitalized
Mingei Museum. And at the museum’s west entrance, located in the well-manicured Alcazar Garden, is
The Poet and His Muse (1998),
a sculpture that incorporates Saint Phalle’s use of the curvaceous female form to create something that is both lovely and luscious.
San Diego County Waterfront ParkAnother target rich environment for Saint Phalle’s work is downtown’s
Waterfront Park across from the
San Diego Bay. The park is home to an interactive splash fountain, green areas, intimate gardens and three Saint Phalle’s sculptures including the wild and mesmerizing
Arbre Serpents (1988),
#19 Baseball Player (1999) and
Element of Seals (1999), designed to encourage kids (and adults) to do some up-close exploration.
San Diego Convention CenterJust southeast of the
San Diego Convention Center is
Coming Together (2001), from Saint Phalle’s limited series called “The Skinnies,” highlighting San Diego’s diverse elements. She described the piece as such: “The windows in the head allow us to see nature and the sea; representing an awareness of our surroundings. The mirrors will give, like the wheel of life, a sense of perpetual movement. Each time of day will (be) reflected in the mirrors. The sunset, the sunrise.”
Kit Carson Park in EscondidoBut the must-see Saint Phalle in San Diego is
Queen Califia’s Magical Circle, her only sculpture garden in America. Surrounded by 12 acres of parkland in
Escondido, 35 minutes from downtown San Diego, the garden takes a bit of sleuthing to find but is well worth the effort. Its outside diameter measures 120 feet and is encircled by a wall topped with slithering, glinting serpents. The garden has one entrance — a maze-like passageway of black, white and mirrored tiles. Inside the circle is a wonderland of colors and angles featuring sculptures ranging from 11 to 21 feet depicting deities, monsters, animals, humans and geometric shapes. At the center is the legendary black Amazon queen, Califia, who was believed to rule a terrestrial island paradise. Saint Phalle passed away on May 21, 2002, at the age of 71, and her family and assistants had to finish the project, which opened to the public in late 2003. Visiting Queen Califia’s Magical Circle takes more than a bit of planning as it is open only on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon, and on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free, and docents are on hand to answer questions on Saturdays.
