Louise Bougeois at the MoMA...

7:27 p.m.

Provocative works by French sculptor Louise Bourgeois are currently on display at the MoMA in New York. Most of them remained unknown till now, specially the etchings that explore the female world which were made by the artist in the last two decades of her long life. Louise Bourgeois was born in 1911 in Paris and died in 2010, after becoming American. As an artist she experimented with different materials, using several techniques simultaneously, such as sculpture, drawing and painting. Bougeois' artworks are the result of the feelings caused by her life, specially her complex relationship with her knitting mother.

In this exhibition only a few pieces have been already on display at the previous exhibition at the Tate Modern in London, which proves the versatility and impressive production of the artist. Here we also get to know her creative process intimately.

"Louis Bourgeois: An Unfolding Portrait" explores the role of the etchings (which belong to MoMA's collection) in the artist's creative process.

The visit begins in the atrium on the second floor of the museum, where a huge spider incases a cage, creating a sort of refuge or, on the contrary, a type of trap. On one of the walls there's another spider, escaping "the situation".

Spider, by Louise Bourgeois (1997)

Materials: steel, tapestry, wood, glass, fabric, rubber, silver, gold and bronce.

Spider II, by Louise Bourgeois (1995)

Bronze

In the fourth floor, the etchings are the stars. We see abstract shapes, but some have certain organic shapes, curve-like or similar to roots or bunchs. Two of those are quite similar to the latest works by Kathleen Ryan.

Eccentric Growth I, by Louise Bourgeois (2006)

Technique: soft etching with ink, gouache, pencil and additions in colored pencils

Her creative process can be seen in the spirals she draws to try to control the chaos. Fear, tension and even hope are part of these abstract shapes, which are combined with a human figure.

Spiral Woman, by Louise Bourgeois (1984)

Bronze

Spiral Woman, by Louise Bourgeois (2001)

4 states

Bourgeois started her series of furniture sculptures, called Cells, in 1991 and finished almost 60 examples in different sizes and complexity. Some of them were made with objects belonging to her. Cells VI is one of the simplest and is painted in blue because of the calmness produced by that hue. In the case of "Untitled (Chair)", the feeling is more dramatic and expresses the solitude and trauma Bourgeois experimented when her father abandoned the family home during WWI.

Cell VI, by Louise Bourgeois

Materials: painted wood and metal

Untitled (Chair), by Louise Bourgeois

Materials: steel and glass

The last room presents a series of etchings related to the human gestation period, although they look quite distressing, specially since there's a headless male sculpture hanging from the roof. The overall effect is almost hypnotic, as most of the exhibition and it reflects a sad Bourgeois. Curator Deborah Wye confessed that, after reading some letters found at her Chelsea studio, "the depth of her suffering surprised me".