L´ouiseau Amoureux Fontaine

L´ouiseau Amoureux Fontaine stands beside a pond in Ekebergparken, Oslo, surrounded by greenery and contemporary sculpture. Created by French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle in 1993, it shows a large, colourful bird-like figure with wings spread wide. One of Saint Phalle’s Nana figures embraces the bird’s body, joining the two forms into a single, striking shape.

Bright colours and flowing contours give the sculpture a sense of movement, while the bird suggests freedom and the wish to break away. The surrounding water adds another layer, because the artwork also becomes a fountain during summer. Jets rise from the sculpture at regular intervals, turning the quiet pondside setting into a brief performance.

The Nana’s embrace brings fertility, love, motherhood and responsibility into the same image as independence. That tension gives the work its memorable character, with a bird appearing ready for flight while carrying another figure close.