LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Themes:

Abstraction, Nature

Techniques:

Etching

Description:

Illustrated book with 5 soft ground etchings, all with hand additions

Support:

Paper, with fabric cover

Dimensions:

page (each): 59 1/4 × 19 1/2" (150.5 × 49.5 cm); overall: 59 1/4 × 19 1/2 × 5/8" (150.5 × 49.5 × 1.6 cm)

Signature:

"LB" left lower sheet verso of cover, stitched in red thread.

Publisher:

Osiris, New York

Printer:

Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, NH

Edition:

Unique

Edition Information:

Throughout this illustrated book, there are a total of 5 soft ground etchings made from 4 different plates. One of the plates appears twice. In addition to their use in this illustrated book, all 4 plates were issued as individual editions, which are listed below and can be seen in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
"Swaying"
"Accumulations"
"Leaves"
"Up and Up"

Pagination:

16 unnumbered pages, including front and back covers.

Housing:

Bound. Linen covered portfolio.

Background:

Benjamin Shiff, the director of the Osiris imprint, collaborated with Bourgeois in a highly experimental phase of printmaking that occupied the last years of her life, from 2005 to 2010. He first established a working relationship with the artist in the 1990s, but the late period is particularly noteworthy for the innovative and complex large-scale projects that evolved at that time. Shiff made use of professional workshops for printing, but he oversaw the creation of the printing plates as Bourgeois worked on them in her home studio. He also provided assistance as she added extensive hand additions and texts, and as she combined individual compositions into multi-panel works and illustrated books.

Curatorial Remarks:

The pagination of this illustrated book was determined by the Louise Bourgeois Studio and the publisher.

The paper type could not be documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person.

The cover of this book was created after its contents, and the title on the cover differs from that on the title page. According to the Louise Bourgeois Studio, the title of this book is "Duration and Intensité," as written on the title page.

© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY