This book provides a comprehensive overview of the fabric works from the last two decades in
the career of legendary artist Louise Bourgeois. "I've always had a fascination with the needle
" she said "the magic power of the needle. The needle is used to repair damage. It's a claim
to forgiveness." This body of work began when the artist started incorporating clothes from all
stages of her life into her art and later expanded to include a range of other textiles such
as bed linen handkerchiefs tapestry and needlepoint. The fabric works mine the themes of
identity and sexuality trauma and memory guilt and reparation and serve as metaphors for
emotional and psychological states. The catalogue - which accompanies the exhibition at the
Hayward Gallery London and the Gropius Bau Berlin - features works from numerous series
including the monumental Cell installations figurative sculptures and abstract drawings.
LOUISE BOURGEOIS (1911-2010) is one of the most influential artists of the 20th and 21st
centuries best known for her formally inventive and psychologically powerful sculptures.
