Arched Figure No. 1

Louise Bourgeois

1997

Fabric, rubber, and steel

Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

Louise Bourgeois (Born 1911 in Paris; died 2010 in New York) was one of the most influential artists of the last century. In her distinctive mix of abstraction and figuration, she delved into childhood memories and the struggles of everyday life. Using a variety of materials—wood, bronze, marble, steel, rubber, and fabric—she crafted evocative and personally cathartic objects that reference the body, sexuality, family, trauma, and anxiety. Beginning in the mid-1990s, Bourgeois repurposed found fabric as the material for a number of sculptures. In part, this stemmed from necessity—sewing was a technique she could still manage as an e