Louise Bourgeois Structures of Existence: The Cells

Like the majority of Bourgeois’s pieces, her series of Cells are at once enigmatic and extremely personal. Constructed during the last two decades of the artist’s life, these complex and sophisticated works are daring and provocative. Many are small enclosures into which the viewer is prompted to peer inward at arrangements of symbolic objects; others are small rooms into which the viewer is invited to enter. In her Cell pieces, Bourgeois uses earlier sculptural forms, found objects, and personal items that held significant meaning for her. Six Cells from throughout the series are given close scrutiny, revealing the enormous diversity of Bourgeois’s vision as well as recurring themes of physical and emotional pain; voyeurism; integration; and disintegration. A section of colour reproductions includes images and details of the entire series. Together with extensive essays on the Cells’ evolution and an interview with the artist’s assistant, Jerry Gorovoy, this volume offers a holistic appreciation of a crucial phase in Bourgeois’s highly influential career.