Bronze, 2 parts
7.8×32.7×20.3cm
Ed. 1/6
Purchased with funds of the Lampadia Foundation, Vaduz
The Fingers by Louise Bourgeois is a two-part bronze cast from 1984 whose sculptural form can be described as organic and corporeal. Like the beginning of something coming into being, a host of smooth round formations grow out of the two bronze panels, bringing forth associations of the phallic and nourishment (teat/udder). At the same time, the bronze piece in its entirety is reminiscent of a magnified organic structure which, similar to fingers or tiny hairs, feel over their environment, at the same time evoking a wish to touch them in the beholder. "There has always been a sexual suggestiveness in my work. Sometimes I am totally concerned with female shapes – clusters of breasts like clouds – but often I merge that imagery – phallic breasts, male and female, active and passive."
Born in France in 1911, the artist went to the USA in 1938, where she lived until her death in 2010. Bourgeois is regarded as one of the most important artists of the present. Discovered very late by the art market – only gaining national and international recognition for her work as of 1982 – Bourgeois eluded current art movements all her life, finding the basis for her artistic examination above all in her own biography: "[A]ll my subjects have found their inspiration in my childhood." The human constitution in general and in relation to the other, hatred and love, creative, conservative and destructive forces, fears and uncertainty, the interwoven structure of memories and the corporeal are major formative elements in her highly individual oeuvre. The provocative playful handling of gender inherent in her work opens up worlds of free association for the beholder, that Louise Bourgeois often humorously deconstructed: "Oh, do you see something erotic in it? Then you're reading that into it."
Denise Rigaud
