Louise Bourgeois’ legacy remembered

Kukje Gallery exhibition features early iconic works shown for the first time in Korea 


An exhibition of works by the late French-American artist Louise Bourgeois opened last week, featuring some of her early iconic pieces that are being shown for the first time in Korea.

Titled “Personages,” the exhibition showcases 14 pieces created between the 1940s and the early 1950s that established Bourgeois as one of the most prominent sculptors after World War II.

Known in Korea for the gigantic spider sculpture “Maman” on the lawn of Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Bourgeois held four solo exhibitions here before she died in 2010 at the age of 99.

The works in the “Personages” series, first shown in New York City in 1949, are separated into two distinct groups.

One group consists of sculptures made in the 1940s that are of simple and concise shapes. The other group, made in the 1950s, has works that are more structurally complex, represented with repetitive shapes.

Her works were byproducts of the anxieties and emotional void she felt as a new wife and a young artist in a strange city, New York, as well as trauma from her childhood in France.

“Her father kept leaving the house and her mother was sick. She was worried her mother would die. All the psychological things made her anxious,” said Jerry Gorovoy, an assistant to Bourgeois for 30 years, at the opening of the exhibition last week.

“Her works are very autobiographical; each piece represents what she felt. When she was depressed, she made things that folded inside,” Gorovoy added.

The major themes of Bourgeois’ works are sexuality and insecurity, stemming from her childhood memories and her father’s affair with her English nanny, according to Gorovoy. This aspect of her works later influenced young artists in the 1980s who focused on gender equality.

“They paid attention to Bourgeois’ earlier works and found more meaning in them,” Gorovoy said.

One of her major installations in the “Cells” series is also showcased. The artist represents the complexity of domestic relationships using objects that look like body parts and found objects, non-artistic items given an artistic meaning.

The new exhibition space K3 that houses Bourgeois’ works is also recognized for its unique and innovative design. Architect Florian Idenburg received the American Institute of Architects New York Design Award for the design of K3, located behind the main Kukje Gallery building, in May.

The exhibition runs until June 29 at Kukje Gallery in Samcheong-dong in Seoul.

For more information, call (02) 735-8449 or visit www.kukjegallery.com.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)