凯瑟琳·玛丽-艾格尼斯·法·桑法勒在巴黎塞纳河畔纳伊出生。父母分别是银行家安德烈·玛希-法·桑法勒和珍妮·贾桂琳。1933年在大萧条期间，桑法勒与全家从法国搬家到美国。 她在青少年时期是做时装模特儿，并在16岁时成为《生活》杂志的封面（1949年9月26日），及后又在法国Vogue(风尚)杂志的1952年11月号上了封面。 18岁时，桑法勒与她从12岁起认识的作者哈利·马修私奔，并且搬到麻塞诸塞州的剑桥生活。 当她的丈夫在哈佛大学学习音乐时，桑法勒开始作画，做不同的媒介和风格试验。 他们的第1 个孩子——劳拉在1951年出世。

桑法勒曾经抵制她的家庭的古板保守和传统观念。不过，在她嫁给年轻的丈夫和诞下两个孩子以后 ，她却发现本身 已 1 样地踏进本身 曾经拒绝的资产阶级生活模式中，这个内部的矛盾导致她蒙受 1 次精神崩溃，再加上童年时被父亲性侵的暗影 。作为1 种医治 方式，她受到医治 师的鼓励开始作画。1956年，桑法勒结识了瑞士艺术家尚·丁格利以后 更开启她的艺术门扉。

当在巴黎时，桑法勒被介绍给成为她的朋友和顾问的美国画家休．韦斯，其鼓励她用她自我的风格继续画。桑法勒后来移到她的儿子菲利普在1955年5月出生的地方西班牙马略卡的Deya。 当在西班牙时，桑法勒看了马塞尔·普鲁斯特的作品并且访问了马德里和巴塞隆纳，在那里，她被安东尼·高第的建筑深深地打动。高第对她的影响在于使用完全不同的材料，和 objet-trouvés为桑法勒打开很多之前 想像不到的可能性作为用雕刻品和建筑的架构构件。 高第的“Park Güell”特别打动了桑法勒，使她认为生来就是要为人建造1 个快乐的花园。桑法勒继续作画，特别 是在她的家庭于20世纪50年代中期般到巴黎以后 。她的第1 个自然艺术油画博览会 于1956年在瑞士举行。桑法勒当时的集合艺术经常以暴力的目标为特色，例如枪和刀。似乎也透露了她心中的苦闷。

 在1961年，她以射击艺术出名 ，丁格利也很支持她的大胆创作。射击艺术品由木或金属结构里面藏颜料袋，然后为熟石膏所覆盖。做完以后 会用点廿二口径步枪进行射击，油漆溅出，所以每个作品都独1 无二。这类 风格非常古代 ，并且她在全世界展览，包括巴黎、瑞典、加州马利布和阿姆斯特丹Stedelijk美术馆现场射击表演。本来桑法勒是作了1 件标钯和衬衫的作品来发泄，后来就成了藏颜料袋的射击艺术。

新创立的艺术运动新写实主义（Nouveau Réalisme）创始人——皮埃尔·瑞斯坦尼（Pierre Restany）参加过桑法勒的博览会 后，随后约请 她加入。

桑法勒的第1 个个人展览在巴黎的Galerie J举行。不久，桑法勒在全部 欧洲和美国间露面。在1960年代，她与包括罗伯特·劳斯臣堡、贾斯伯·琼斯、拉瑞·瑞佛斯和他的妻子克拉丽斯在内等驻巴黎的美国艺术家成为朋友；桑法勒接着多年与他们参加各种各样的计划。

“娜娜”

在射击艺术成为她探索女性各种各样的角色的1 个过渡期，她以女性为题材制造与实物1 样大小的玩偶，例如新娘和妇女分娩时的情境。材料方面，次要 为纸黏土，并以聚酯和铁线作支架。

受她的朋友——美国艺术家劳瑞·瑞佛斯的妻子克拉丽斯·瑞佛斯的怀孕启发，她开始创作关于在社会上各种女性的工作或原型的作品，作品的“身形”均非常丰满并有不同色彩，以代表着不同的人种。她的谚语“任何1 个女人”的艺术表现情势 被命名为“娜娜”（Nanas），“Nana”在法语中是女人的俗称。这类 以纸黏土、毛料和布料的自在 艺术，于1965年9月在巴黎亚历山大·伊欧拉斯的画廊作首次展览。对这场展览来说，伊欧拉斯出版与她的“娜娜”联合在一同 包括她的笔迹的第1 个艺术家书。透过伊欧拉斯的鼓励，她开始伴随包括广告画、书和博览会 的图表工作。“娜娜”的意义不仅如此，这也让桑法勒成为色彩亮丽、充满自信与活力的生命女性。

在1966年，她与尚·丁格利和培奥夫·乌尔特维德在瑞典斯德哥尔摩的当代美术馆协作大规模雕刻品《hon-en katedral》。 “hon”是瑞典语的“她”，这超巨大艺术品的外部情势 是1 个躺卧的巨人，长28公尺、宽9公尺、高6公尺，里面有天文馆、电影放映室、咖啡座和1 些艺术品，但大家都得从“她的私处”进出。这个作品在全世界的杂志和报纸里引来巨大的回响。在hon-en katedral的建设期间，他们和瑞士艺术家瑞柯·韦伯会面，其后来并与她和丁格利成为1 个重要的合作伙伴。 在1960年代，她也为两种戏设计装潢 和服装分别是罗兰·珀蒂的芭蕾舞剧，和据阿里斯托芬作的《利西翠妲》改编剧。

亲爱的尚

约1955年，桑法勒认识尚·丁格利和他的妻子伊娃·艾皮里。 她要丁格利为她的第1 个雕刻品结合外壳。在1960年，桑法勒同她的作家丈夫哈利·马修离婚。 同年丁格利夫妇也离婚。桑法勒和丁格利后来参加由他和其他艺术家的并且合用相反 的工作室，包括康史丹丁·丹库希。 马塞尔·杜象在这个时期对西班牙加泰隆尼亚的超理想 派艺术家萨尔瓦多·达利介绍。 为了参加1 个“对达利致敬”的庆祝，桑法勒和丁格利旅行到西班牙；期间又在达利的故乡费格拉斯创作了《火之牛》——用纸做1 个真实比例的牛，填满爆竹和熟石膏后带进斗牛场内引爆。 在1963年， 他们找到1 个乡村小酒馆并在加泰隆尼亚期间作为他们的家和工作室。 她1971年7月15日取得瑞士公民身分与丁格利结婚。值得留意 的是，瑞士的丁格利美术馆也是桑法勒催生的。

塔罗公园

受高第在巴塞罗那的奎尔公园和在波马索的花园的影响 ，桑法勒决定做出类似 的东西－1 个纪念性的雕刻品公园。1974年,她与老朋友马雷拉重逢,并说出了想建造1 个童话雕塑公园的想法!! 在1979年，她从卡洛艾妮莉和尼可拉卡拉乔洛接受在托斯卡纳的加拉维乔的土地，它大约在罗马东南 方100 公里的海岸。意大利语把这个花园称为Giardino dei Tarocchi[塔罗公园]，Niki 将塔罗牌中的22牌加以设计制造 成大雕像,以上彩的聚止纤维,陶瓷,玻璃,镜子及马赛克的水泥雕塑而成。这花园经约20年施工后在 [1998年] 开放。Niki 花了20多年的心力投入,他都以坚定的意志力去克服,过程中虽面临许多考验,但这座公园是她对人,事,物的洞察成果.

 在2000年11月17日妮基成为一名 汉诺威的名誉公民并且把她的300件艺术品捐赠到司本格博物馆。

大多数桑法勒的大型雕刻品被在公共场所展览，包括:

斯特拉文斯基泉(自动泉)－巴黎庞毕度中心( 1982 ) 次要 由丁格利完成

La fountaine Chateau-Chinon－和丁格利合作－涅夫勒嘉特奥-齐农。

L'Ange Protecteur－苏黎世火车站大厅

娜娜－德国汉诺威莱纳河边的莱布尼茨大街 (Leibnizufer)(1974)。

卡莉菲亚皇后的魔法圆形花园－加州艾斯康迪多的提克卡森公园

太阳神(1983)－加利福尼亚大学校园上的1 种富想像力的有翼动物。

月亮，加州贝亚贝亚商场内的雕刻品。

同在一同 ，圣地牙哥会议中心

在德国汉诺威的Grotto at the Herrenhäuser Gärten

Cyclop－和丁格利的合作的纪念性的雕刻品－法国米里佛艾

高伦－耶路撒冷

耶路撒冷－和瑞士建筑师马力欧·保加的诺亚方舟雕刻品公园

Lebensretter-Brunnen－德国杜伊斯堡

 Catherine Marie-Agnes Fa Sanfarre was born in Nay, on the Seine River in Paris. Their parents were bankers Andre Marcy-Fa Sanfara and Jenny Jaguilin. During the Great Depression in 1933, Samfarre and his family moved from France to the United States. She was a fashion model as a teenager and became the cover of Life magazine when she was 16 years old (September 26, 1949) and then the cover of Vogue magazine in France in November 1952. At the age of 18, Samphaler eloped with Harry Matthew, the author she had known since she was 12, and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. When her husband studied music at Harvard University, Samphaler began to paint, experimenting with different media and styles. Their first child, Laura, was born in 1951.

Samphale once resisted the stereotyped conservatism and traditional ideas of her family. However, after she married a young husband and gave birth to two children, she found herself in the same bourgeois lifestyle that she had rejected. This internal contradiction led to a mental breakdown, coupled with the shadow of her father's sexual assault in her childhood. As a treatment, she was encouraged by her therapist to start painting. In 1956, after meeting Swiss artist Shan Dingley, Sanfare opened her door to art.

While in Paris, Samphale was introduced to Hugh Weiss, an American painter who became her friend and consultant, and encouraged her to continue painting in her own style. Samphale later moved to Deya, Mallorca, Spain, where her son Philip was born in May 1955. While in Spain, Samphale saw the works of Marcel Proust and visited Madrid and Barcelona, where she was deeply impressed by Anthony Gaudi's architecture. Goldie's influence on her was the use of entirely different materials, and objet-trouves opened up many previously unthinkable possibilities for Samfarre to be used as structural components for sculpture and architecture. Goldie's "Park Gueell" particularly touched Samphale, making her think that she was born to build a happy garden for people. Samphale continued to paint, especially after her family arrived in Paris in the mid-1950s. Her first natural art oil painting exhibition was held in Switzerland in 1956. Samphale's collection art at that time was often characterized by violent targets, such as guns and knives. It seemed to reveal her distress.

In 1961, she was famous for her shooting art, and Dingley also supported her bold creation. Shooting artwork consists of a bag of paints hidden in a wooden or metal structure and then covered with plaster. When it's finished, it shoots with a 22 caliber rifle and the paint splashes out, so each work is unique. This style is very modern, and she exhibits all over the world, including live shooting performances at the Stedelijk Gallery in Paris, Sweden, Malibu, California and Amsterdam. Originally, Samphaler made a palladium label and shirt to vent, and later became the shooting art of the pigmented bag.

Pierre Restany, the founder of Nouveau R alisme, participated in the exhibition and then invited her to join.

Samphale's first personal exhibition was held in Galerie J, Paris. Soon, Samphale appeared across Europe and the United States. In the 1960s, she became friends with American artists in Paris, including Robert Rothchenburg, Jasper Jones, Larry Reeves and his wife Claris; Samphale then worked with them for many years on various projects.

"Nana"

In the transition period when shooting art became her exploration of women's various roles, she made dolls of the same size as real objects, such as the situation of the bride and the woman in childbirth. In terms of material, it mainly consists of paper clay and uses polyester and wire as support.

Inspired by the pregnancy of her friend, Clarice Reeves, wife of American artist Laurie Reeves, she began to create works about the work or prototype of women in society. The "body" of the works is very full and has different colors to represent different races. The artistic expression of her proverb "any woman" is named "Nanas" and "Nana" is a common name for women in French. This free art of paper clay, wool and cloth was first exhibited in September 1965 at the Gallery of Alexander Euras in Paris. For the exhibition, Euras published her first artist book, which was combined with her "Nana" and included her handwriting. Encouraged by Euras, she began to work with charts, including posters, books and exhibitions. The meaning of "Nana" is not only that, but also that makes Samphale a bright, confident and energetic life woman.

In 1966, she collaborated with Shane Dingley and Peov Ultravid in the Contemporary Art Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, on the large-scale sculpture "hon-en katedral". "Hon" is the Swedish word "she". The external form of this super-huge work of art is a reclining giant, 28 meters long, 9 meters wide and 6 meters high. There are museums, movie studios, cafes and some works of art inside, but everyone has to go in and out of "her private place". This work has aroused tremendous repercussions in magazines and newspapers all over the world. During the construction of hon-en katedral, they met with Swiss artist Rico Weber, who later became an important partner with her and Dingley. In the 1960s, she also designed decorations and costumes for two kinds of operas, Roland Petty's ballet and Lisicuida adapted from Aristophanes.

Dear Shang

Around 1955, Samphale met Shane Dingley and his wife Eva Epiri. She asked Dingley to combine the shell for her first sculpture. In 1960, Samphaler divorced her writer husband, Harry Matthew. The Dingley couple also divorced in the same year. Samphale and Dingley later joined the same studio as he and other artists, including Constantine Dankushi. Marcel Duxiang introduced El Salvador Dali, a surrealist artist from Catalonia in Spain during this period. Samphale and Dingley traveled to Spain to attend a celebration of "Salute to Dali", during which they created "The Bull of Fire" in Dali's hometown, Ferguson, using paper as a true proportion of the bull, filled with firecrackers and plaster, and then brought it into the bullring to detonate. In 1963, they found a village pub and served as their home and studio during their stay in Catalonia. On July 15, 1971, she acquired Swiss citizenship and married Dingley. It is noteworthy that the Dingley Museum of Art in Switzerland was also inspired by Samphale.

Giardino dei Tarocchi

Affected by Gaudi's gardens in Barcelona's Quel Park and in Pomasso, Samphale decided to make something similar - a memorial sculpture park. In 1974, she reunited with her old friend Marilla and expressed her desire to build a fairy-tale sculpture park!!! In 1979, she accepted Galavico's land in Tuscany from Carlo Ellie and Nicola Caracoro, about 100 kilometers northwest of Rome. Italian calls the garden Giardino Dei Tarocchi [Taro Park]. Niki designs and makes 22 cards of the Taro cards into large statues, which are made of colored polyamide fibers, ceramics, glass, mirrors and mosaic cement sculptures. The garden was opened in [1998] after about 20 years of construction. Niki spent more than 20 years devoting herself to the park. He overcome it with a firm will. Although there are many tests in the process, the park is the result of her insight into people, things and things.