Toulouse: very good start for the Nikki de Saint-Phalle exhibition at Les Abattoirs
The Niki de Saint-Phalle exhibition is the event we were waiting for. In just ten days, it has already welcomed more than 8,000 visitors, including many young people.
Open to the public since October 7, the exhibition Niki de Saint-Phalle, the years 1980-1990: art in freedom, at the Abattoirs, held really crowded, especially on weekends. Witness the waiting files that formed on Sunday on the forecourt of the museum. Families, couples, groups waited patiently detailing the large sculpture that sits in front of the Abattoirs, representing a couple in bathing suits, all in curves, like the famous Nanas of the visual artist. The exhibition has already welcomed 8,594 visitors, the majority of whom (70%) live in Haute-Garonne or Occitanie. A first record was broken last weekend with 2,933 admissions, more than the previous one (2,875).
“Audience delighted”
“We are delighted to see the public so enthusiastic, and to see them marvel and spend time in this exceptional discovery of the work of Niki de Saint-Phalle. The poster campaign in the metro in Toulouse and Paris is working well, as is word-of-mouth. We did not file badly and there are also a lot of photos circulating on social networks, ”notes the curator of the museum, Annabelle Ténèze, happy.
At the entrance to the nave of the Abattoirs, the wall of inflatable Nanas behind which stands a Loch Ness Monster, all in a mosaic of mirrors, is much photographed, as is the blue armchair with the heads of snakes on which we have the right to take selfies, in the basement. We discover the extraordinary world of a free, hypersensitive, feminist, ecologist artist before her time, who was able to carry out major projects such as the Tarot Garden, this park of giant house sculptures, where she lived in Italy. The exhibition lasts until March, from Wednesday to Sunday, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on site (normal price €8). For guided tours, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. (3 + entry) you must register at [email protected]