Louise Bourgeois. Le Coeur Est Là (Turning Inwards #2) (2008)

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Louise Bourgeois. Le Coeur Est Là (Turning Inwards #2). 2008

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION

Cat. No. 774, unique variant 3

Le Coeur Est Là (Turning Inwards #2)

State/Variant:: Only state, unique variant
Date:: 2008

Descriptive Title:: English translation: "The Heart Is There"
Themes:: Abstraction, Nature
Techniques:: Etching
Description:: Soft ground etching, with watercolor, gouache, and pencil additions
Support:: Paper
Dimensions:: plate (in 2 vertical parts) (overall): 60 1/4 × 31 3/4" (153 × 80.7 cm); sheet: 60 1/2 × 39 1/2" (153.7 × 100.3 cm) (plate dimensions reflect full plate size; these are partial printings)
Signature:: "Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp., pencil.
Inscription:: "le coeur est là" lower left comp., pencil, artist's hand. Verso: "#2 turning inwards"
Publisher:: Osiris, New York
Printer:: Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, NH
Edition:: Unique
Impression:: Not numbered
Edition Information:: This is one of 5 unique variants that incorporate this plate. They all include extensive hand additions and are listed below:

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
"Le Père Déchu"
"Turning Inwards (#1)"
"Le Coeur Est Là (Turning Inwards #2)"
Untitled, no. 4 of 4, from the series, "Have a Little Courage"
Untitled, no. 3 of 3, from the series, "The Voice Says Yes"

About the "Turning Inwards" edition:
Within the edition, selective wiping varies significantly from impression to impression. (See two examples in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.) Paper type varies slightly as well. There is 1 known variant impression of the only state, outside the edition. There are 2 known cancellation proofs, each with a large “X” drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate.
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 paper type, color of the hand additions, and verso inscriptions could not be fully documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the variant impression in MoMA’s Collection (Accession Number 990.2011). The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.