L'Officiel Art

The Origins of La Prairie's Iconic Cobalt Blue is Found with Artist Niki de Saint Phalle

La Prairie's patronage of MoMA PS1's exhibition Niki de Saint Phalle: Structures for Life celebrates the visionary artist and her immeasurable influence on the luxury brand and beyond. The Swiss house carries on her legacy of beauty and innovation with its latest addition, Skin Caviar Nighttime Oil.

flooring floor hardwood wood art wedding cake food dessert art gallery
Installation view of 'Niki de Saint Phalle: Structures for Life,' on view at MoMA PS1, New York, from March 11 to September 6, 2021. Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Kyle Knodell.

It began with the color blue. French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle utilized a particular shade of cobalt on her canvases and sculptures—a color she said was the “color of joy and luck”—and it was this hue that caught the eye of Swiss luxury house La Prairie. In the early 1980s, the artist and brand often held creative exchanges in the New York design studio where both parties had ateliers—it was during one of these encounters that the La Prairie team saw the engrossing blue shade and joined Saint Phalle and La Prairie’s legacies, making the color its signature for the famed Skin Caviar Collection. 

 

Now, the two forces come together once again for the first major U.S. exhibition of Saint Phalle’s work, Niki de Saint Phalle: Structures for Life, on view at MoMA PS1 in New York City through September 6, 2021. Through La Prairie’s patronage of the retrospective, Saint Phalle’s artistic impact is seen across 200 works that engage with themes around women’s rights, climate change, HIV/AIDS awareness, and other pressing issues.

water fountain
santee ca person human text number symbol graphics art
machine vegetation plant land nature outdoors water
Clockwise from top left—"La fontaine Stravinsky," c. 1983 by Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo: Green Moon Marketing. © 2021 Niki Charitable Art Foundation; "Last Night I Had a Dream," 1968–88, by Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo: Laurent Condominas. © 2021 Niki Charitable Art Foundation; "La femme et L'oiseau fontaine," 1967–88, by Niki de Saint Phalle. © 2021 Niki Charitable Art Foundation.

For Niki de Saint Phalle: Structures for Life, MoMA PS1 Curator Ruba Katrib and La Prairie selected nine works in the exhibition that especially speak to the artist and brand’s shared vision. From the shotgun-perforated “Tir neuf trous—Edition MAT” (1964) to the large-scale “Hon” (1966) installation that celebrated female sexuality to the entwined serpents that top her Snake perfume, the selected works highlight Saint Phalle’s progressive spirit—one that is shared by La Prairie founder Dr. Paul Niehans. Both figures dared to go beyond convention to create what they believed would make the world more beautiful. 

1 / 3
Among Curator Ruba Katrib and La Prairie's nine selected works in the exhibition: "Flaçon de parfum," 1982, by Niki de Saint Phalle. © 2021 Niki Charitable Art Foundation.
Among Curator Ruba Katrib and La Prairie's nine selected works in the exhibition: "Tir neuf trous—Edition MAT," 1964, by Niki de Saint Phalle. Photo: NCAF Archives. © 2021 Niki Charitable Art Foundation.
Among Curator Ruba Katrib and La Prairie's nine selected works in the exhibition: Archival footage of "Hon," 1966, by Niki de Saint Phalle. Niki Charitable Art Foundation, Santee.

Today, La Prairie carries on that mission. Beyond its support of arts and culture, La Prairie continues to innovate in the world of luxury skincare. With its latest launch, the Skin Caviar Nighttime Oil, the iconic cobalt blue encases yet another standout product. Formulated with an exclusive caviar-derived retinol and caviar lipids, the Nighttime Oil helps restore and renew as your body recharges. In fact, the silky oil was formulated to work with the skin’s circadian rhythms to fight aging and envelope the skin in a moisture-retaining veil.

cosmetics
La Prairie Skin Caviar Nighttime Oil

Entwined in the worlds of art and science, La Prairie is committed to beauty above all. So the next time you reach for La Prairie’s Skin Caviar line, you know who to thank for the gleaming cobalt vials. 

Tags

Recommended posts for you