Louise Bourgeois
The Heart Has Its Reasons
19 Dec 2020 – 4 Apr 2021
"This winter, Hauser & Wirth brings the work of one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th Century, Louise Bourgeois, to the Swiss Alps. Available to experience at the exhibition space Tarmak22 in Gstaad and online, the exhibition takes its title from Blaise Pascal’s well-known phrase: ‘the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.’ Bourgeois studied mathematics and philosophy at the Sorbonne, Paris, and wrote her thesis on Pascal; but the death of her mother in 1932 eventually led her to abandon these studies and turn to art making. Yet she remained a Pascalian, so to speak, in her belief that there is something in our emotional and psychological experience of the Other that eludes, or transcends, rational explanation. For Bourgeois, this relationship to the Other is a complex arrangement, and a world in itself."
Although drastically different to mine in both style and medium, I have always found Louise Bourgeois' work to be extraordinarily inspiring, moving and beautiful to look at. The artist's recent work is predominantly made in the form of sculpture, which I don't personally work with (as of yet), but the subject matter of her practice is what makes her work so incredibly close to home. Bourgeois' work primarily responds to the traumatic experiences she faced through out her child and adult life. Bourgeois making sense of the struggles she faced and making peace with her demons and dark past through her creative out let is what draws me so closely to the artist's work, as this is exactly what I seek to do; and exactly how making art work makes me feel. Following this virtual exhibition I continued to research the artist's childhood and past; reading up on her sculptures such as 'Maman' and the stories and turbulent relationships that informed the creating of the piece. I believe that gaining inspiration through back story is just as important as visual and technical inspiration and Bourgeois' work truly made me feel connected to her and her story, inspiring me to carry on creating and putting my demons to bed through my practice too.
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