“Most people don’t see the edginess in my work.
They think it’s all fantasy and whimsy.”
—Niki de Saint Phalle, 1998
Niki de Saint Phalle, whose innovative work in utilitarian sculpture redefined an entire genre of contemporary art, was known as “the beauty who challenged the beast of public taste.” Best known for her monumental public works, de Saint Phalle’s unconventional approach to sculpture cemented her place at the center of a male-dominated field, one that she continually challenged in the realms of gender archetypes and orthodoxy. Through her artistic explorations, de Saint Phalle carefully approached and rejected the “accepted female role images such as passivity, withdrawal, shyness, and the willingness to play second fiddle, she directed a sharp criticism at the prejudiced images of male society. In her work she left behind the old female roles and formulated new ones and opportunities, thus anticipating the dialectics of the birth of a possible new world from the destruction of the old.”2
In the 1980’s, de Saint Phalle applied her iconic chromatic brushwork, capricious patterns, and untraditional silhouettes to the forms of snakes (a symbol of particular interest to the artist), creating vibrantly painted chairs adorned with geometric patterns. As one of the most ancient mythological symbols, the serpent has been associated with fertility, wisdom, and rebirth. Head with Snake adopts these ancestral traits with astonishing vitality, a serpent spouting out of a vibrant blue head alive with both fantastical and mythological patterns in its metallic gold, orange, and green designs.