Louise Bourgeois architecture and high heels
By Paulo Herkenhoff
"My childhood never lost its magic, never lost its mystery, and never lost its drama."
Louise Bourgeois (1)
Her father would draw Louise Bourgeois' outline on the skin of a tangerine and cut it in the shape of a naked g...
Biografia
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Arch of Hysteria | Nature Study | Nature Study, Pink fountain | Spiral Woman | Blind Man´s Buff |
Femme Couteau | Trani Episode | Fragile Goddess | Harmless Woman | Janus Fleuri |
Breasted Woman | Woman with packages | Spider |
Biografia di Louise Bourgeois
Louise Bourgeois architecture and high heels
By Paulo Herkenhoff
"My childhood never lost its magic, never lost its mystery, and never lost its drama."
Louise Bourgeois (1)
Her father would draw Louise Bourgeois' outline on the skin of a tangerine and cut it in the shape of a naked girl. When he finished, he would mock: "Look, Louise does not have anything there...." However, her father, in competition with her mother, bought her clothes, such as the ermine collar and hat which were not appreciated by the four-year-old child. Today, this behavior is interpreted by the artist as the loss of innocence. On october 25,1923, Louise Bourgeois wrote in her diary: "I wake up late and go to Paris with Father who is going to buy me a coat, another coat and a hat of leather [sic]".
Louise Bourgeois was the middle child, between her sister (honored in the sculpture Henriette, 1985) and her brother. This position gave her a sense of instability. Unresolved conflicts and ambiguous memories from childhood were retained as memories of a family in which the mother was the protective figure. The father, the authoritarian figure, became the lover of Sadie, the family's tutor. Science debates how the death of a father impacts a person's psychological structure (Freud) or maybe this is mere fiction created by ethnologists. Bourgeois leads us to ambiguous and conflicting images of her father as in The Destruction of the Father (1974). The family home, the network of relationships among the members of the family, and the child's anguish make up the "childhood motivations" which are the basis of her art. "The corpus of my work," stated Louise Bourgeois (2), "is adjusted to my recurrent identification with Eugénie Grandet, a Balzac character, who was never given a chance to grow up and the daughter in Pčre Goriot, who never grew up.
"Father would go with Pierre and me to the school full of boys, watched me [sic].... I got dressed in the afternoon and went to play under the cherry trees. Sadie and I were wearing father's pants."
Chronology
Born in Paris, on December 25, 1911, daughter of Joséphine Fauriaux and Louis Bourgeois, owners of a tapestry gallery. Studied at Licée Fénelon, in Paris. In 1938 married American Robert Goldwater and moved to New York, where lives presently.
Solo exhibitions
1995
Louise Bourgeois: Dessins, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Geoges Pompidou, Paris, France; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
1994/95
Louise Bourgeois: Retrospective of Prints, The Museum of Modern Art New York, USA.
1994
Skupturen und Installationen Galerie Karsten Greve, Köln, Germany; Galerie Karsten Greve, Mailand Milan, Italy; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, USA; The Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, USA; Louise Bourgeois: Etchings, Galerie Espace, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Skulpturen und Installationenn, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hannover, Netherlands.
1993/94
United States Pavilion. 45, Biennale di Venezia, Veneza, Italy; The Locus of Memory Works 1982-1993, The Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA; The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, USA.
1993
Linda Cathcart Gallery, Santa Monica, California; Personnages 1940's/Installations 1990's, Laura Carpenter Fine Art, Santa Fe, USA; Ginny Williams Family Foundation, Denver, USA; Galerie Ramis Barquet, Monterrey; Etchings, Jan Weiner Gallery, Topeka, USA.
1992/93
Louise Bourgeois, Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France, Recent Acquisitions, National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA.
1992
C.O.Y.O.T.E., Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, USA; Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation, Toronto, Canada; Currents 21: Louise Bourgeois,The Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, USA; Louise Bourgeois: Drawings, Second Floor, Reykjavik, Islândia; The Fabric Workshop's 15th Anniversary Annual Benefit Honoring Louise Bourgeois and Anne d'Harnoncourt,. The Fabric Workshop, Filadéfia, USA; Prints 1947-1991, Barbara Krahow Gallery, Boston, USA .
1991
Recent Sculpture, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA; Ydessa Hendeles Art Foundation, Toronto, Canada; L'Oeuvre Gravée, Galerie Belong, Zurich, Switzerland.
1990-1991
Skulpturen und Zeichmungen, Monika Srpüth Galerie, Köln, Germany.
1990
Bronze Sculpture and Drawings, Linda Catchcart Gallery, Santa Monica, USA; Druckgraphik und Zeichnungen, Barbara Gross Galerie, Munique, Germany; Drawings, Karsten Schubert, Ltd., London, England; Skupturen und Zeichmungen 1939-1989n, Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna; Ginny Williams Gallery, Denver, US ; Bronzen der Oer und 50er Jahre, Galerie Karsten Greve, Köln, Germany.
1989/91
Retrospektive, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Städusche Galerie im Lenbachhaus. Munich, Germany; Musée d'art contemporain, Lyon, France; Fondació Tŕpies, Barcelona, Spain; Kunstmuseum, Berna, Switzerland; Riverside Studios, London, England.
1989
Louise Bourgeois, Sculpture, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA; Louise Bourgeois Progressions and Regressions, Galerie Lelong, New York, USA; Works from the 50s, Sperone-Westwater Gallery, New York, USA; Dessins 1940-1986, Galerie Lelong, Paris, France; 100 Zeichnungen 1939-1989, Galerie Lelong, Zurich, Switzerland; Selected Works 1946-1989, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, USA; Works from the Sixties, Dia Art Foundation, Bridgehampton, USA; Louise Bourgeois, Sculpture, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, USA.
1988
Louise Bourgeois Drawings 1939-1987, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA; Louise Bourgeois: Werken op papier 1939-1988, Museum Overholland, The Netherlands.
1987/89
Louise Bourgeois, The Taft Museum, Cincinnati, USA; The Art Museum at Florida International Universitty, Miami, USA; Laguna Gloria Art Museum, Austin, USA; Gallery of Art, Washington University, St Louis, USA; Henry Art Gallery Seatle, Washington, USA; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, USA.
1987
Paintings from the 1940's. Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA; Louise Bourgeois, Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, USA; Sculpture 1947-1955, Gallery Paul Anglim, San Francisco, USA; Paintings and Drawings, Janet Steinberg Gallery, San Francisco, USA.
1986
Louise Bourgeois, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA, Eyes, The Doris Freedman Plaza, New York, USA; Louise Bourgeois, Sculptures and Drawings, Texas Gallery, Houston, USA.
1985
Louise Bourgeois, Serpentine Gallery, London, England; Louise Bourgeois: Retrospektive 1947-1984, Galerie Maeght-Lelong, Paris, France, and Zurich, Switzerland.
1984
Louise Bourgeois Sculpture, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA; Louise Bourgeois, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles.
1983
Louise Bourgeois, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, San Francisco, California.
1982/83
Louise Bourgeois, Retrospective, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, Texas; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA, Akron Art Museum, Akron, USA.
1982
Bourgeois Truth, Robert Miller Gallery, New York, USA.
1981
Louise Bourgeois, Femme Maison, Renaissance Society University of Chicago, USA.
1980
Louise Bourgeois: Sculpture. The Middle Years 1955-1970, Xavier Fourcade Gallery, New York USA; The Iconography of Louise Bourgeois, Max Hutchinson Gallery, New York, USA.
1979
Louise Bourgeois. Sculpture 1941-1953. Plus One New Piece, Xavier Fourcade Gallery, New York, USA; Louise Bourgeois: Matrix/Berkeley 17, Berkeley Art Museum. University of California. Berkeley, California, USA.
1978
Triangles: New Sculpture and Drawings, Xavier Fourcade Gallery, New York, USA; New York, Hamilton Gallery, New York, USA.
1974
Sculpture 1970-1974, 112 Greene Street, New York, USA.
1964
Louise Bourgeois: Recent Sculpture, Stable Gallery, New York, USA.
1963
Recent Drawings by Louise Bourgeois, Rose Fried Gallery, New York, USA.
1959
Sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, Andrew D. White Art Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA.
1953
Louise Bourgeois, Allan Frumkin Gallery, Chicago, USA; Louise Bourgeois; Drawings for Sculpture and Sculpture; Peridot Gallery, New York, USA.
1950
Sculptures, Peridot Gallery, New York, USA.
1949
Late Work 1947 to 1949: 17 Standing Figures, Peridot Gallery, New York, USA.
1947
Louise Bourgeois, Norlyst Gallery, New York, USA.
1945
Paintings by Louise Bourgeois, Bertha Schaefer Gallery, New York, USA.
Group exhibitions
1995
Féminin Masculin, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France.
1994
Against All Odds: The Healing Powers of Art, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokio/The Hakone Open-Air Museum, Kanagawa, Japan.
1992
Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany; From Brancusi to Borgeois, Aspects of the Guggenheim Collection, Guggenheim Museum Soho, New York, USA.
1991
Die Hand des Künstlers, Museum Ludwig, Köln, Germany.
1990/91
Road to Victory, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Four Centuries of Women's Art, The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Shibuya, Tokio/The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura/Sapporo Tokio, Sapporo/Tenjin Iwatava, Fukuoka/Daimaru Museum Umeda, Osaka/Nagano Tokio, Nagano/Hiroshima Museum of Art/Hiroshima/Matsuzakaya Museum, Nagova, Japan.
1990
Figuring the Body, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA; Scultura in America, II Biennale Internazionale de Scultura Contemporanea di Matera, Matera, Italy.
1989
Magiciens de la Terre, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Prospect '89, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Bilderstrei, Museum Ludwig, Köln, Germany.
1988/89
Figure and Subject, The Revival of Figuration Since 1975, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York/Erwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art; Wichita State University, Wichita/The Arkansas Arts Center; Little Rock/Amarillo Art Center, Amarillo/Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City/ Madison Art Center, Madison, USA.
1987
Black and White, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Von Chaos und Ordnung der Seele, Psychiatrische Klinik der Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany; L'Etat des Choses L. Kunstmuseum, Lucerna, Switzerland; La Femme et le Surréalisme, Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland.
1986
Individuals A Selected History of Contemporary Art 1945-1986, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, USA.
1985
Spuren. Skulpturen und Monumente ihrer präzisen Reise, Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland.
1984/85
The Third Dimension, Sculpture of the New York School; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA; Primitivism, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.
1983
Twentieth Century Sculpture: Process and Presence, Whitney Museum of American Art at Philipp Morris, New York, USA.
1982
TwentyAmerican Artists 1982 Sculpture, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA.
1977
30 Years of American Art 1945-1975, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Images of Horror and Fantasy, Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York, USA.
1976
200 Years of American Sculpture,Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA.
1975
20th Century Masterworks in Wood, Portland Art Museum, Portland, USA; Sculpture American Directions, National Collection of Fine Arts. Smithsonian Institution,Washington, USA; American Art Since 1945 From the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.
1969
The Partial Figure in Modern Sculpture, Museum of Art, Baltimore, USA.
1965
Les Etats Unis: Sculpture du XX Sičcle, Musée Rodin, Paris, France.
1963
Treasures of 20th Century Art from the Maremont Collection, Washington Gallery of Modern Art, Washington, USA.
1961
Recent Acquisitions, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.
1958
Nature of Abstraction, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA.
1955
Contemporary American Painting and Sculpture, Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Champaing, USA; Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Sculpture, Watercolors and Drawings, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA; Drawings, Watercolors and Small Oils, Poindexter Gallery, New York, USA; Sculpture Group, Tanager Gallery, New York, USA.
1954
Reality and Fantasy 1900-1954, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Sculputure in a Garden, Private Residence, New York, USA; Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Sculpture. Watercolors and Drawings, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA; Third Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, Stable Gallery, New York, USA; 18th annual Exhibition of American Abstract Artists, Riverside Museum, New York, USA.
1951
Recent Acquisitions, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Sculpture, Watercolors and Drawings, Whitney Museum American Art, New York, USA.
1945
Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, USA; The First Biennial Exhibition of Drawings by American Artists; The Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA; The Women, Art of This Century Gallery, New York, USA; Group Show, Curt Valentin Gallery, New York, USA; Personal Statement: Painting Prophecy 1950, David Porter Gallery, Washington/Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA; Textile Design, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; Contemporary Prints, Buchholz Gallery, New York, USA.
1943
The Arts in Therapy: A Competition and Exhibition in Collaboration with artists for Victory, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.
