Jonathan Baldock on Niki de Saint Phalle

An artist he has long loved and admired, artist Jonathan Baldock quickly gravitated towards Niki de Saint Phalle when asked to choose a work to discuss  from the David Roberts Collection. Topic of deliberation is her small sculpture Nana Danseuse made around 1972. 

He is interested in both the joyous celebration of female figures and the (at times overlooked) politicized, feminist activism and trauma that is also present in de Saint Phalle's practice. There are formal crossovers in Baldock and de Saint Phalle's practices too, both being rich with references, sparking conversation about her Tarot Garden in Italy and the act of collecting "mundane things" as a child including stamps, coins, and even bird sightings.

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Image of Jonathan Baldock by Damian Griffiths.