LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Alternate Title:

Leaves

Themes:

Abstraction

Techniques:

Etching

Description:

Soft ground etching, with red ink additions

Support:

Paper

Dimensions:

plate: 55 1/2 × 9 13/16" (141 × 25 cm); page (each): 59 1/4 × 19 1/2" (150.5 × 49.5 cm)

Signature:

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

Inscription:

"Verticality / is the move / from the passive / (fear and violence) / to the active" center page, pencil, artist's hand.

Publisher:

Osiris, New York

Printer:

Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, NH

Edition:

Unique

Impression:

Not numbered

Edition Information:

This is one of 18 unique variants that incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with another plate. When the plate is printed alone, the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with another plate, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
“Leaves 1”
“Leaves 2”
“Leaves 3”
“Leaves 4”
"Leaves"
Untitled, plate 3 of 5, from the illustrated book, “Duration and Intensité”
Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, “Duration and Intensité”
Untitled, no. 1 of 5, from the series, "The Vocabulary of Seduction"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
“Eccentric Growth I”
“Eccentric Growth II”
“Eccentric Growth III”
“Eccentric Growth IV”
“Eccentric Growth V”
“Eccentric Growth VI”
("Eccentric Growth VII" was destroyed by the artist)
“Eccentric Growth VIII”
“Eccentric Growth IX”
Untitled, no. 3 of 3, from the series, "Evening of My Life"
Untitled, no. 2 of 4, from the series, "Inner Truths or Outer Truths"

About the "Leaves" edition:
There is 1 known impression of the only state, outside the edition. It is inscribed "first proof" in the lower left margin. It is not shown due to its similarity to this impression.

There are 2 known cancellation proofs on paper, each with a large "X" drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate.

Pagination:

Pages 8 and 9 of 16.

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 plate dimensions are from the impression on paper in MoMA’s Collection. The dimensions of the book were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.

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