Drawings by Louise Bourgeois at the Saint Louis Art Museum March 23rd through June 20th 2004
Best known as a sculptor, the French-American artist Louise Bourgeois (born 1911) has been making drawings since the late 1930s. This installation features a small but important group of drawings ranging from her earliest work to her most recent, spanning the diverse subjects Bourgeois has embraced throughout her career.
Unlike some artists who use drawing to develop plans for larger projects, Bourgeois has always treated her graphic works as independent compositions. With their characteristic hatched lines, spare detail, and neutral backgrounds, the drawings nevertheless address themes also seen in her sculpture, including isolation, love, loss, and beauty. Bourgeois has described them as "ideas and little complaints." Made using pen, pencil, crayon, and gouache, the drawings range in style from colorful figures to muted abstractions. Even at their most inventive, Bourgeois' drawings are meant to represent the dramas of everyday living.
Drawings by Louise Bourgeois was organized by Phillip Prodger, assistant curator of prints, drawings, and photographs, and is on view March 23 through June 20 in Gallery 321.