There probably is no contemporary artist who so relentlessly expresses their emotions through their artistic work quite like Louise Bourgeois. Thoughts which cannot be adequately expressed by words are transferred into a concrete/physical form so that the outside world can share in Bourgeois’ inner life. Her principal themes are the fundamental existential questions we ask ourselves concerning birth and death, love and hate, the human body and sexuality. Therefore, her works are instantly relatable whilst remaining mysterious through their complexity. She often uses symbols and metaphors whose core meaning seems straightforward. However, at the same time, she leaves the observer completely in the dark with no way of knowing whether his or her interpretations really lead to an in depth understanding of the work. The variety of applied techniques strengthens the experimental aspect of Bourgeois' work. Her practice is not only focused on sculpture but also includes drawing, painting and printmaking.
Louise Bourgeois was born in 1911 in Paris. Her works were first widely recognised in the US, especially in New York, where she lived from 1938 onwards. In 1982, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, showed the first retrospective of her work, which led to further exhibitions throughout the US and, starting in 1989, also in Europe. She became particularly well-known internationally following her participation in the documenta 9 in Kassel, Germany, in 1992 and the 1993 Venice Biennale. Today, she is one of the most renowned female artists in the world. Numerous museums have honoured her with important solo exhibitions. Louise Bourgeois died in New York in 2010.
Exhibitions
Publications
Biography
Born in Paris, France
Move to New York, USA
On October 4, Louise Bourgeois becomes an American citizen
Died in New York, USA on May 31
Lycée Fénelon and Collège Sévigné, Paris, France
Sorbonne, Paris, France
Paul Colin (1892 – 1985)
Atelier Roger Bissière de l’Académie Ranson, Paris, France
École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France (Studies with André Devambez and Colarossi)
Académie de la Grande-Chaumière, Paris, France (Assistant to Yves Brayer)
Académie de la Grande-Chaumière, Paris, France (Study of painting with Othon Friesz and sculpture with Wlérick)
Trained as a lecturer at the Ecole du Louvre, Paris, France
Académie Julian, Paris, France
Académie Scandinavie, Paris, Frankreich, (Studies with Charles Despiau)
Atelier Fernand Léger (1881 – 1955)
Marcel Gromaire (1892 - 1971) and André Lhote (1885 – 1962)
The Art Students League of New York, USA, (Studies with Vaclav Vytlacil)
Exhibitions
Unteres Belvedere, Vienna, Austria
Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA
Hayward Gallery, London, UK
Esker Foundation, Calgary, Canada
Jewish Museum, New York, NY, USA
Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugal
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Museum Voorlinden, Den Haag, The Netherlands
Tate Modern, London, UK
Song Art Museum, Beijing, China
Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany
Glenstone Museum, Potomac, MD, USA
Galerie Karsten Greve Cologne, Germany
Galerie Karsten Greve Paris, France
ICA Miami – Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, Miami FL, USA
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA, USA
Kistefos Museum, Jevnaker, Norway
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark
Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C, USA
Museo Picasso, Málaga, Spain
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough, UK
Cheim & Read, New York, NY, USA
Galerie Karsten Greve Paris, France
Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany
The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Freud Museum, London, UK
La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain
Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Graphische Sammlung der ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Bulleen, Australia
Faurschou Foundation, Bejing, China
Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
QM Gallery Katara, Doha, Qatar
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany
Fundación Proa, Buenos Aires, Argentina; travelled to: Instituto Tomie Ohtake, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Museu do Arte Moderno, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fondation Beyeler, Riehen (Basel), Switzerland
National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
Marlborough Graphics, London, Great Britain
Vardo, Norway
Cheim & Read, New York, NY, USA
Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Memorial Vardo, Vardø, Norway
Maison de Balzac, Paris, France
Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany
Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skärhamm, Sweden; Kunstforeningen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sammlung Scharf - Gerstenberg, Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany; travelled to: Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag, The Netherlands, Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, USA
Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA, USA
Fondazione Vedova, Venice, Italy; Hauser & Wirth, London, UK
Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA, USA
Städtische Museen Jena, Jena, Germany
Carolina Nitsch Project Room, New York, NY, USA; Hauser & Wirth Colnaghi, London, UK
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., USA
Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
Marlborough Graphics, London, Great Britain
Hauser & Wirth, London, Great Britain
Storm King Art Centre, Mountainville, NY, USA
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA, USA
Galerie Christine König, Vienna, Austria
Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angles, CA, USA; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., USA
Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, USA
The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Galerie Lelong, Paris, France
Peter Blum Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Great Britain
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, USA; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany
Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco, CA, USA
Wilfredo Lam Center, Havana, Cuba
Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, Turkey
Hauser & Wirth, London, Great Britain
Dunn and Brown Contemporary, Dallas, TX, USA
Galleri Stefan Andersson, Umeå, Sweden
Kukje Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Marlborough Fine Art, London, Great Britain
Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Austria
Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
Memphis College of Art, Memphis, TN, USA
Trinitatiskirche, Cologne, Germany
Metropolitan State College, Denver, CO, USA
Centre de la Gravure et de l'Image Imprimée, La Louvière, Belgium
St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO, USA
Akira Ikeda Gallery Muranchi, Yokosuka, Japan
Cheim & Read, New York, NY, USA
Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France
Daros Exhibitions, Zurich, Switzerland
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Learn moreMuseu de Arte Moderna (MAM) of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Amos Rex, Helsinki, Finland
MAD - Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland
Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
DESTE Foundation, Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece
Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
ICA Boston, Boston MA, USA
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt a. M., Germany
Palazzo Grassi, Punta della Dogana, Venice, Italy
Faurschou Foundation, New York, NY, USA
Muzeum Susch, Susch, Switzerland
jevouspropose, Zurich, Switzerland
ICA – Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston MA, USA
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Stadtgalerie Saarbrücken, Saarbrücken, Germany
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Sotherby’s, London, UK
Museum Marta Herford, Herford, Germany
Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Monnaie de Paris, Paris, France
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Galerie Karsten Greve, Cologne, Germany
La Maison Rouge, Paris, France
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Tate Liverpool, UK; travelled to: MMK - Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt am. Main, Germany, Centre Pompidou, Metz, France
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Monastère royal de Brou, Ville de Bourg-en-Bresse, France
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France
Barbara Gross Galerie, Munich, Germany
New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Drawing Room, London, UK
Kunsthalle Rostock, Rostock, Germany
The Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH, USA
Angermuseum Erfurt, Germany
Galerie Nächst St. Stephan, Vienna, Austria
Palais des Papes, Avignon, France
Haugar Art Museum, Tonsberg, Norway
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA
Ben Uri Gallery, London, UK
Moderna Museet, Malmö, Sweden
Kunsthalle Würth, Schwäbisch Hall, Germany
Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz, Austria
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Austria
MoMA - The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
FRAC - Collection Aquitaine, Bordeaux, France
Weserburg - Museum für moderne Kunst, Bremen, Germany
Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ, USA
Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence, Italy
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
Redline Art Center, Denver, CO, USA
New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY,USA
Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany
The David Roberts Art Foundation, London, UK
Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC, USA
Museo Picasso, Málaga, Spain
MoMA - The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA
Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, USA