Exhibition title and venues
An exhibition titled Extrême tension is being held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, showcasing the graphic work of Louise Bourgeois. It brings together for the first time the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Centre Pompidou.Exhibition dates and significance
The exhibition runs from October 20, 2026, to February 21, 2027. It marks nearly 20 years since a public institution last held an exhibition dedicated to Bourgeois, following her last retrospective at Beaubourg in 2008, shortly before her death.Focus on lesser-known work
The exhibition allows for the rediscovery of a lesser-known aspect of Bourgeois's work. She is well-known for her "Mamans," impressive spider sculptures with gigantic filiform legs found around the world. However, her drawings and etchings, which form the source of her work, have long been overshadowed by her monumental creations.Bourgeois's views on drawing
Louise Bourgeois once said, "All my thoughts are visual. Drawings are thoughts-plumes, ideas that I catch on the wing and put on paper. All my thoughts are visual." This reflects her deep connection to drawing as a form of expression.Early artistic influences
Upon her arrival in the United States in 1938, after marrying art historian Robert Goldwater, Bourgeois trained in drawing and etching at the Art Students League. She later studied in the studio of Stanley William Hayter, a hub for major figures of modern and contemporary art, including Jackson Pollock and Louise Nevelson.First artist's book
During this period, she composed her first artist's book, He Disappeared Into Complete Silence, which alternates text and etchings. It already showed her taste for irony and marked the beginning of her unique artistic voice.Curator's perspective
Marie-Laure Bernadac, general curator of the exhibition, notes that drawing is the basis of Bourgeois's art. It allows exploration of themes such as writing, architectural motifs, sexuality, and motherhood, central to her work.Graphic production and catalog
Bourgeois's graphic production, created obsessively and with constant reworking, has been the subject of a catalog raisonné available free of charge online on the MoMA website. This catalog provides a comprehensive view of her work.Chronological journey through her career
The exhibition offers a chronological tour through Bourgeois's immense career, highlighting how she continuously developed her singular artistic language. Unlike trends, she renewed herself until a very advanced age.Themes and motifs in her work
The exhibition highlights the diversity of motifs that populate Bourgeois's imagination, translating her obsessions into visual forms. These include the spider, the house-woman, a hybrid figure combining the female body with architecture, and the wounded body, hurt and then repaired.Motherhood and powerful works
Motherhood plays an essential role in her work, as evidenced by powerful red gouaches created at the end of her life. These works shatter taboos around pregnancy or childbirth, reflecting her deep emotional engagement with the subject.Exhibition highlight
The highlight of the exhibition is the large formats gathered under the title Extrême tension, which gives its name to the exhibition. These works, created only three years before her death, combine prints with gouache, ink, or graphite.Artistic expression and personal struggle
Eleven large panels associate prints with words traced by the artist's trembling hand in the evening of her life. She reuses a text from 1959, listing different parts of the body, from the skull to the toes, and mixes this anatomical map with physical sensations related to aging and the degradation of the body.Personal reflection on mortality
Louise Bourgeois represents herself as an animal hunted by death, fighting for her survival. This moving work shows how drawing appears more than ever as an outlet, a way to give shape to her anxieties and keep them at bay.Bourgeois on the role of drawing
"For me, drawing is a kind of diary. I could not help but make them because they are a way to exorcise or analyze the fears of each day," Bourgeois said, highlighting the personal and emotional significance of her drawings.
