Louise Bourgeois. Unconscious memories

Organized in collaboration with The Easton Foundation and the French Academy in Rome - Villa Medici, this is the first Roman exhibition dedicated to the sculpture of Louise Bourgeois, whose long artistic career has significantly advanced critical discussions of contemporary art, incorporating themes that have become central today, including psychoanalysis and feminism.

The exhibition confirms the importance of the relationship between ancient and contemporary art, actualizing what the Borghese Gallery represented for Cardinal Scipione Borghese: a treasure chest of personal treasures and a place to guard a legacy to be constantly renewed. Carefully chosen, the approximately 20 sculptural artworks by the French-Canadian artist presented to the public dialogue with the Gallery’s unique architecture. The themes of metamorphosis, memory, and the expression of emotional and psychological states on which they are centered are found in many Masters from different periods and backgrounds in the collection. Louise Bourgeois’ contemporary lens, however, offers new perspectives on the human experience, thanks in part to the extraordinary diversity of forms and materials used (latex, plaster, wax, textiles) that allow the artist to express a range of emotional states.

The sculptor’s encounter with the Borghese collection had begun as early as the late 1930s, with her art history studies at the Louvre, and then deepened with stays in Pietrasanta, Carrara, and other cities between 1967 and 1972. The rooms, the Secret Gardens, and the Uccelliera - Bird House pavilion that make up the exhibition itinerary are all places that Louise Bourgeois had explored with admiration during her first visit to Rome in 1967.

On the occasion of the exhibition, the Academy of France in Rome - Villa Medici is hosting a work by the artist in the historic apartments of Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici: the installation No Exit.

Cover image:
Louise Bourgeois UNTITLED (NO. 7), 1993-2009 Marble and wood
Photo: Christopher Burke, © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by SIAE, Italy and VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY