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LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Louise Bourgeois: Complete Books & Prints
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Cat. No. 494/III

Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis

State/Variant:
State III of X
Date:
1997
Alternate Title:
Seven in a Bed
Themes:
Architecture, Figures, Objects
Techniques:
Drypoint, Engraving
Description:
Drypoint and engraving, with red ink additions
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 11 9/16 x 11 5/8" (29.3 x 29.5 cm); sheet: 12 3/4 x 12 5/8" (32.4 x 32 cm)
Signature:
"LB" lower right margin, red ink.
Inscription:
Verso: "obsession or confusion" lower right sheet, red ink, artist's hand.
Publisher:
unpublished
Printer:
Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:
1 known impression of state III
Impression:
Not numbered
Edition Information:
Proof before the editioning of state X.
State Changes and Additions:
Changes from state II, by burnishing: smaller scale bed and figures removed.
Background:
“Metamorfosis” is a collaboration initiated by Maria Fluxà, a Spanish gallery owner and collector. Fluxà first encountered Bourgeois’s work at the 1982 MoMA retrospective and felt a particular emotional connection to the “Femme Maison.” She then began enthusiastically collecting Bourgeois’s work, which she displayed in her gallery, Lluc Fluxà, in Palma de Mallorca (Spain). Taking inspiration from Bourgeois's themes of memory, identity, and trauma, Fluxà also staged a performance at her gallery titled “Götterdämmerung” that dealt with her own upbringing.

In 1993, Fluxà met Bourgeois at the MoMA opening of a Joan Miró exhibition, introducing herself as an admirer and collector. She later visited the artist, which led to discussions about a possible collaboration between the two.

Bourgeois had a sympathetic response to Fluxà’s difficult relationship with her father, a problem she shared. After meeting over the next several years, she agreed to participate in a collaborative work that became the illustrated book entitled, "Metamorfosis." Here, Fluxà creates a fusion of words and imagery that conflates her own identity with that of the artist. Bourgeois allowed images of her work to contribute to this fusion, and also created five prints especially for the volume. The book was published by Galerie Lelong, Paris, in 1999. For a deluxe edition, the volume was accompanied by a portfolio with two additional prints, making a total of seven compositions created by Bourgeois in conjunction with this project.

In 2005, Fluxà and Dolors Caballero organized the exhibition and catalogue, "Louise Bourgeois: Repairs in the sky" at the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation, in Mallorca. In 2008, Fluxà and Caballero also organized "La Sage Femme: Louise Bourgeois," an exhibition and catalogue of Fluxà's collection of Bourgeois works, at Sala Espacio AV, in Murcia (Spain).
Curatorial Remarks:
Bourgeois worked with the printer Harlan & Weaver, New York, to develop the compositions in "Metamorfosis." The plates were then turned over to the printer Atelier Tanguy Garric, Paris, for editioning and publication by Galerie Lelong, Paris.

Bourgeois made several studies to aid in the development of this composition. Over the course of three years, she photocopied various states as the plate evolved, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.

The composition "Eight in Bed," seen in Related Works in the Catalogue, has a close relationship to this Untitled composition. In fact, it appears that photocopy studies of Untitled, plate 5 were used to create "Eight in Bed." The two compositions could have been catalogued as Versions in one Evolving Composition Diagram. They were catalogued separately because Untitled, plate 5, is from an illustrated book, making it difficult to present the two compositions as one.
Other Remarks:
According to Bourgeois's assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, when Bourgeois was a child, she and her siblings, and the two cousins who lived with the family, would join her parents in bed on Sunday mornings.

Gorovoy also notes that the beds seen throughout "Metamorfosis" stem not only from their symoblic resonance for Bourgeois but also from her interest in their geometric and architectural forms. The bed motif is found in Bourgeois's drawings, sculptures, and installations, as well as in her prints (see Related Works in Other Mediums).
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
717.2008
This Work in Other Collections:
Tate Modern, London

Untitled, plate 5, from the illustrated book and the portfolio, Metamorfosis
1996-1999

Source
1996

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Seven in a Bed. 1996
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Seven in a Bed
Pencil and ink on paper
1996

Studies

Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis). 1996
Study
1996
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis). 1996
Study
1996
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis). 1997
Study
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled (Study for Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis). 1998
Study
1998

States

Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1996
State I of X
1996
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State II of X
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State III of X
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State IV of X
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State V of X
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State V of X, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State V of X, variant
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State VI of X
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State VII of X
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State VIII of X
1997
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, and plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1997
State IX of X
1997
Published Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 5, from the illustrated book, Metamorfosis. 1999
State X of X
1999
Published Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 5 of 7, from the portfolio, Metamorfosis. 1999
State X of X
1999

Illustrated Book
1999

Louise Bourgeois. Metamorfosis. 1999
Metamorfosis
1999
More About This Work

Portfolio
1999

Louise Bourgeois. Metamorfosis. 1999
Metamorfosis
1999
More About This Work