Louise Bourgeois made work about her complicated relationship to trauma, family and the body. Born 1911 in Paris, France, Louise questioned her turbulent homelife across her 80-year career.
She went on to study mathematics at Sorbonne University, but its logic was no use to her. She then began making art. From Woven figures, sculptures of spiders, and drawings of insomnia, art gave her a psychological release.
The Good Mother, 2003
The spider sculpture she is famous for is about her mother. Just like her, who was a weaver, spiders protect and create a sense of home. Bourgeois gave us a visual language to understand emotions, memory and the body.
Art Is a Guaranty of Sanity
It’s hard to capture the raw emotional impact Bourgeois's work continues to make into words.
The Birth, 2007
Mamn, 1999
Spider Women, 2004
