22/3/2016

HistoryofArt:LouiseBourgeois

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LouiseBourgeois
seealso:BourgeoisLouise

LouiseBourgeois
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HistoryofArt:LouiseBourgeois
b.1911,Paris
LouiseBourgeoiswasbornonDecember25,1911,inParis.Asateenager,Bourgeoisassistedher
parentsintheirtapestryrestorationbusiness,makingdrawingsthatindicatedtotheweaversthe
repairstobemade.In1932,sheenteredtheSorbonnetostudymathematics,butabandonedthat
disciplineforart.Inthemidtolate1930s,shestudiedatthecoledesBeauxArts,Acadmiede
laGrandeChaumire,coleduLouvre,AtelierFernandLger,andotherParisianschools.In1938,
BourgeoismarriedanAmerican,thearthistorianRobertGoldwater,andmovedtoNewYork.
There,shestudiedfortwoyearsattheArtStudentsLeagueandwassoonparticipatinginprint
exhibitions.
Aftermovingtoanewapartmentin1941,Bourgeoisbegantomakelargewoodsculpturesonthe
roofofherbuilding.In1945,herfirstsoloshow,comprisedoftwelvepaintings,washeldatthe
BerthaSchaeferGalleryinNewYorkandherworkwasfirstincludedintheWhitneyAnnual(later
theWhitneyBiennial).Inthemidtolate1940s,sheworkedatStanleyWilliamHayter'sprintshop,
Atelier17,whereshemetLeCorbusier,JoanMir,andotherEuropeansexiledbyWorldWarII.In
1949,sheexhibitedworksfromherPersonageseriesinthefirstshowofhersculpture,atPeridot
GalleryinNewYork.
In1951,BourgeoisbecameanAmericancitizen.Continuinghermodeofabstractedfiguration
instilledwithpsychologicalandsymboliccontent,sheremainedstylisticallydistinctfromNewYork
Schooldevelopments.Shedid,however,joinAmericanAbstractArtistsin1954.Inthe1960s,she
taughtinpublicschoolsandatBrooklynCollegeandPrattInstituteinNewYork.Shewould
continuetoteachatcollegesanduniversitiesduringthefollowingdecade.Inthelate1960s,
Bourgeois'simagerybecamemoreexplicitlysexualassheexploredtherelationshipbetweenmen
andwomenandtheemotionalimpactofhertroubledchildhood(herfatherhadhadatenyear
affairwithhergoverness).From1967until1972,shemadetripstoPietrasanta,Italy,toworkin
marble.
Withtheriseoffeminismandtheartworld'snewpluralism,herworkfoundawideraudience.In
the1970s,shebegantodoPerformancepiecesamongthemABanquet/AFashionShowofBody
Parts(1978),inwhichshewrappedarthistoriansandstudentsinwhitedraperywithsewnin
anatomicalformsandexpandedthescaleofherthreedimensionalworktolargeenvironments.
ThefirstretrospectiveofBourgeois'sworkwasorganizedbytheMuseumofModernArtinNew
York(198283),andherfirstEuropeanretrospectivewasassembledbytheFrankfurter
Kunstverein(1989).BourgeoiswasselectedtobetheAmericanrepresentativetothe1993Venice
Biennale.Hercollectedwritingswerepublishedin1998.In2000,threethirtyfoothightowersby
Bourgeois,commissionedbytheTateModerninLondonIDo,IUndo,andIRedowerefeatured
inthatmuseum'sinauguralexhibition.Manyofherlargescaleworkshavebeenexhibitedas
publicart,includingthreespidersculpturesinstalledatRockefellerCenterinNewYorkin2001
undertheaegisofthePublicArtFund.
Bourgeois'sachievementshavebeenrecognizedwith,amongotherhonors,afellowshipfromthe
NationalEndowmentfortheArts(1973),membershipintheAmericanAcademyofArtsand
Sciences(1981),agrandprizeinsculpturefromtheFrenchMinistryofCulture(1991),andthe
NationalMedalofArts(1997).BourgeoislivesandworksinManhattan.

SeveninaBed
2001

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SeveninaBed
2001

SpiralWoman
2003

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FemmeMaison
2001

FemmeCouteau
2002

ArchedFigure
1999

ArchedFigure
1999

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Untitled
1996

Untitled
2002

TheDestructionoftheFather

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1974

BlindMan'sBuff
1984

Spider

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Spider

SpiderI
1995

Spider

Untitled

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TheReticentChild(detail)
2003

WovenChild

Maman
1999

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Maman
1999

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Maman
1999

Swaddling
1997

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ExhibitionImage
2002

Couple
2004

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Couple(detail)
2004

Femme

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Femme

Femme

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Femme

TheWelcomingHands
1996

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Avenza
1968

JanusFleuri
1968

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NoExit
1989

TheBlindLeadingtheBlind
19471949

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Cleavage
1991

CelVIII
1998

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TwoFigures

AvenzaRevisitedII
19681969

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CellXVII(Portrait)
2000

Choker
1948

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TheLadders

TheQuarteredOne
19641965

TheSuicide
1998

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TheRectory
2002

TheInstitute
2002

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Hysterical
2001

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Couple
2002

Defiance
1991

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FemmeVolage
1951

TheReticentChild(setofthreeprints)
2004

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TheReticentChild(setofthreeprints)
2004

TheReticentChild(setofthreeprints)
2004

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MedicalPrint
2001

Couples
2001

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