The Grotto, which dates from 1676, is situated in the northwest corner of the Grosser Garten. Originally its three rooms were ornamented with shells, crystals and minerals to create a place of enchantment and refuge from the heat of the day. In the 18th century these decorations were removed and for many years the building was used as a store. In 2001 a structural restoration started by which the interior was ornamented to designs by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002), a French sculptor, painter and filmmaker. In 1961, Niki de Saint Phalle became known around the world for her Shooting paintings. A shooting painting consisted of a wooden baseboard on which containers of paint were laid, and then covered with plaster. The painting was then raised and de Saint Phalle would shoot at it with a .22 calibre rifle. The bullets penetrated paint containers, which spilled their contents over the painting. After the "Shooting paintings" came a period when she explored the various roles of women. She began to use her artwork to consider archetypal female figures in relation to her thinking on the position of women in society. Her artistic expression of the proverbial every woman was named 'Nanas'. The grotto has an octagonal central entrance hall and the two rooms leading from it are decorated with mosaics of coloured glass and mirrors, pebbles and many painted fibreglass figures on the theme of the life of man and woman. The spiral arrangement of the ornaments around the <b>...</b>
Moderna Museet, Stockholm. karaart.com "1967 Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely work on Le Paradis Fantastique, a commission from the French government for the French Pavilion at Expos'67 in Montreal. Le Paradis Fantastique consists of nine painted sculptures by Niki and six kinetic machines by Jean Tinguely. From Montreal, Le Paradis Fantastique travels first to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, and then to Central Park in New York where it remains on display for an entire year. It now stands as a permanent fixture in Stockholm, close to the Moderna Museet."
