Louise Bourgeois Biography
Louise Bourgeois (Paris, 25 December 1911 – New York, 31 May 2010) was a French sculptor and artist. Louise Bourgeois trained as a sculptor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, before arriving in New York in 1938. She acquired United States citizenship in 1951, after being investigated by Joseph McCarthy, and participated in various artistic movements, first under the influence of the surrealism of emigrants from Europe and dedicating himself, starting from the sixties, to metalworking, creating installations, among other things. His popularity increased with his participation in the documentary in 1992 and at the Venice Biennale in 1993. In his more mature years, the artist deals in depth with themes such as sexuality, family and solitude, representing transfigured images of the male member in his installations and celebrating the concept of motherhood with enormous filigree spider-shaped sculptures; these are works of a dreamlike nature that are often repeated and then installed in various cities, measuring about ten meters high. The Tate Modern in London dedicated a large retrospective to her on the occasion of her ninety-fifth birthday (2007), destined to continue in various prestigious venues including the Center Pompidou. On the ground floor of the Mori Tower, in the Roppongi Hills district of Tokyo, it is possible to admire and touch one of his famous sculptures in the shape of a giant spider. From 5 May to 19 September 2010 a retrospective was open to the public in Venice curated by Germano Celant, at the Emilio and Annabianca Vedova Foundation, which presents the almost unknown production of works made in fabric. In 1997 at the Prada Foundation in Milan there was the first important retrospective in Italy with new sculptures made of clothes that recalled the idea of a personal memory to be freed from, a theme very dear to the artist. In October 2016, a large sculpture donated by the artist to the city thanks to the intercession of the Italian artist and his friend Giovanni Rizzoli was installed in the Sculpture Park of Origgio (VA). The work, entitled The Couple (2003), represents a visceral embrace between two anthropomorphic figures suspended from a tree and is the only large-scale work by Bourgeois exhibited in a non-museum public space in Europe. She passed away in 2010 in New York at the age of 98.
