This comprehensive exhibition is the first major survey of American artist Louise Bourgeois’s (b. 1911, Paris, France) work in more than a decade. Bourgeois’s long and distinguished career reveals a vast oeuvre in dialogue with most of the major international avant-garde artistic movements of the 20th century—from surrealism to conceptual art—but always remaining distinctively separate, as an inventive frontrunner. Simultaneously engaging both modern and traditional techniques, Bourgeois explores various themes in a range of styles... Read more

This comprehensive exhibition is the first major survey of American artist Louise Bourgeois’s (b. 1911, Paris, France) work in more than a decade. Bourgeois’s long and distinguished career reveals a vast oeuvre in dialogue with most of the major international avant-garde artistic movements of the 20th century—from surrealism to conceptual art—but always remaining distinctively separate, as an inventive frontrunner. Simultaneously engaging both modern and traditional techniques, Bourgeois explores various themes in a range of styles, from abstraction to the ready-made. With over 100 works spanning her career, the exhibition includes her earliest paintings; sculptures in differing materials; large-scale installation works from the 1980s and ‘90s; a selection of drawings and prints; small-scale hand-made objects; and her most recent works, which utilize fabric. A rare opportunity to see many of Bourgeois’s most well-known pieces reunited, the presentation includes Filette (1968), The Blind Leading the Blind (1947–49), and a number of her powerful “Cell” installations, such as Red Room (Parents) (1994) and Red Room (Child) (1994). A number of significant works from Los Angeles collections are added to the exhibition for MOCA’s presentation. Louise Bourgeois is organized by Tate Modern in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou and curated by Frances Morris, head of collections, Tate Modern; Marie-Laure Bernadac, chief curator of contemporary art, Louvre; and Jonas Storsve, curator, Musée national d’art moderne, Cabinet d’art graphique, Centre Pompidou. This exhibition is accompanied by a scholarly publication that provides an overview of Bourgeois—not only as an influential creator of sculpture, installation, drawing, and printmaking, but also as a writer, critic, and diarist. The catalogue includes scholarly essays and an illustrated glossary of the major themes in the artist’s work, as well as selected writings by the artist and a full chronology. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, is the fourth venue of an ambitious international tour which includes Tate Modern, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C. MOCA’s presentation is organized by MOCA Curator of Architecture and Design Brooke Hodge.

Louise Bourgeois is organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, in association with Tate Modern, London, and Centre Pompidou, Paris. MOCA’s presentation is made possible through the support of the Annenberg Foundation. Major support for the exhibition and publication is provided by Herta and Paul Amir; Anonymous; Vivian and Hans Buehler; The MOCA Projects Council; Doris and Donald Fisher; Susan and Larry Marx; The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation; Betye Monell Burton; Pamela J. Smith; Donald L. Bryant, Jr.; Agnes Gund; The Joy and Jerry Monkarsh Foundation; Ann Dobson Barrett and Olin Barrett; and Suzanne Deal Booth. In-kind media support is provided by Yellow Book USA and Los Angeles magazine. Ovation TV is the Official Network Partner of MOCA. The Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, is the Official Hotel Sponsor of Louise Bourgeois.