Louise Bourgeois
(Born in 1911 in Paris, France)
Cell (Hands and Mirror), 1995
Marble, painted metal, and mirror
63 x 48 x 45 in. (160 x 121.9 x 114.3 cm)
Promised gift of Barbara Lee
Louise Bourgeois has become one of our most influential living artists. Her emotionally charged body of work, a distinctive mix of abstraction and figuration, delves into childhood memories and the struggles of everyday life. In the 1980s, Bourgeois began a series titled Cells. A combination of sculptural elements both found and made, these installations are suggestive depictions of emotions or memories. In Cell (Hands and Mirror), a finely hewn sculpture of interlocked hands is enclosed by electrical panel doors lined with small mirrors, resulting in a kaleidoscopic reflection of various perspectives.
Arched Figure No. 1, 1997
Fabric, rubber, and steel
9 x 20 x 6 ½ in. (22.9 x 50.8 x 16.5 cm)
Vitrine: 69 x 22 x 30 in. (175.3 x 55.9 x 76.2 cm)
Promised gift of Barbara Lee
Since the mid 1990s, Bourgeois has recycled used fabric as the material for many sewn sculptures. Stitching with bits of her old clothing, sheets, or towels, Bourgeois creates small figures charged with strong emotions. Arched Figure No. 1 is made from pantyhose-like fabric stretched over chicken wire. This crudely stitched female form could be braced against some force, either sexual ecstasy or excruciating pain.