artist profile
Louise Bourgeois
education
The Sorbonne, Paris, France, 1935
École du Louvre, Paris, France, 1935–36
Atelier Roger Bissière de l’Académie Ranson, 1936–37
Académie d‘Espagnat, 1936–37
École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France, 1936–38
Académie de la Grande Chaumière, Paris, France, 1937–38
Académie Julian, Paris, France, 1938
Académie Scandinavie, 1938
about the artist
1911–2010
Born: Paris, France
Died: New York, USA
Louise Bourgeois was a brave artist, endlessly baring her trauma, insecurity, and vulnerability before her audience. In creating her works she sought order, and from that, refuge and solace, through imposing her meticulous geometries, colors, and materials. Her expansive oeuvre traverses a spectrum of themes that range from childhood memories to domestic architecture, sexual complexes to hidden fears. During her lifetime, Bourgeois was bestowed with a great many honors; these include becoming a member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in New York, USA; Officier at L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in Paris, France; and fellow for life at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. She was also awarded the Golden Lion at the 1999 Venice Biennale in Venice, Italy. Over the years, solo exhibitions of her work have been held at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, USA; the Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain; the Serpentine Gallery in London, UK; the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain; and many others. Louise Bourgeois: Retrospective took place over the course of 2007 and 2008, and traveled to the Tate Modern in London, UK; the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, USA; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, USA; and the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., USA.