Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010, b. Paris), a leading voice of feminist art, is known for her radical content and exploration of women’s experiences but also for her influence on subsequent generations of artists. Bourgeois’ work often addressed complex themes including memory, trauma, femininity, and the body. She frequently explored her own experiences, particularly those related to family dynamics and her childhood in France. She employed textiles, bronze, marble, and glass in her sculptures, emphasizing a tactile dimension that invited viewer engagement. Her series of monumental sculptures of spiders, most called Maman (French for mother) have been exhibited throughout the world.
Bourgeois has presented solo exhibitions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City (2022; travelled to New Orleans Museum of Art); SFMoMA, San Francisco (2017); The Museum of Modern Art (2017); Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2015; travelled to Museo Picasso Málaga, Spain; Mori Art Museum, Minato, Japan); National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (2015); National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (2011); Tate Modern, London (2007, travelled to Centre Pompidou, Paris; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; and The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Center, Washington, DC); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2002); Serpentine Gallery, London (1998); Art Gallery of Ontario (1996, travelled to University Art Museum, Berkeley, CA; Drawing Center, New York City; and The List Visual Art Center, Cambridge, MA); Brooklyn Museum, New York City (1994, travelled to Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC); The Museum of Modern Art, New York City (1982). Notable group exhibitions and biennials include Sixties Surreal, Whitney Museum of American Art (2025); Women in Abstraction, Centre Pompidou (2021); America Is Hard to See, Whitney Museum of America Art (2015); the 45th Venice Biennale, Italy (1993); and Documenta 9, Kassel, Germany (1992). Her work is held in the collections of Centre Pompidou, Paris; Dia Beacon, NY; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain; Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams; The Museum of Modern Art, New York City; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Storm King Art Center, New Windsor, NY; Tate Modern, London; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City.