Exhibition | Louise Bourgeois at Villa Medici
From June 21 to September 5, 2024
As part of the exhibition Louise Bourgeois. Unconscious memories at the Galleria Borghese, Villa Medici presents two works by Louise Bourgeois: the installation No Exit and the tapestry Sainte Sébastienne in the Salon de lecture, exceptionally open to the public.
As a complement to the exhibition Louise Bourgeois. Unconscious memories, held at the Galleria Borghese, Villa Medici presents two works by Louise Bourgeois: the installation No Exit and the tapestry Sainte Sébastienne in the Salon de lecture, exceptionally open to the public.
Louise Bourgeois (1911, Paris–2010, New York), a major figure in twentieth-century art who eludes all artistic classification, influenced many artists with a body of work pervaded by the themes of memory, childhood, and metamorphosis.
No Exit evokes the childhood home in which Louise Bourgeois used to take refuge under the stairs to spy on her father. The staircase imagined by the artist leads nowhere; it loses its functional aspect and acquires an almost spiritual dimension that prompts reflection and introspection. Two wooden spheres are placed on either side of the steps, suggesting a phallic form, while two rubber hearts hidden beneath the staircase invoke the place of love in human relationships.
The installation No Exit (1989) resonates with another work by the French-American artist on show in the historic rooms of Villa Medici, inhabited by reflections on the body and memory: the tapestry Sainte Sébastienne (1997), belonging to the Mobilier National collections and on loan to Villa Medici since 2022.
This tapestry, woven by the Gobelins Manufactory, is based on an intaglio print made by Louise Bourgeois in 1992. It depicts a female version of the martyr Saint Sebastian, represented with great economy of means: a body with generous curves is riddled with black arrows from all sides. Bourgeois hijacks the traditional iconography of the Christian martyr to evoke her personal sufferings. “Sainte Sébastienne is a self-portrait,” she declared.
The two works by Louise Bourgeois are presented in the Salon de lecture, refurbished in 2022 by Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION LOUISE BOURGEOIS. UNCONSCIOUS MEMORIES AT GALLERIA BORGHESE
The exhibition, organized by the Galleria Borghese in collaboration with The Easton Foundation, is the artist’s first retrospective in Rome. Curated by Cloé Perrone, Geraldine Leardi, and Philip Larratt-Smith, it presents some twenty works and invites visitors to explore Louise Bourgeois’s major contribution to twentieth-century sculpture, in conjunction with the historical collections and architectural heritage of the Galleria Borghese.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue and a guide published by Marsilio Arte.
Curators: Cloé Perrone, Geraldine Leardi et Philip Larratt-Smith
Exhibition held in collaboration with The Easton Foundation.
AROUND THE EXHIBITION
On July 4, as part of the Esistere come Donna program of encounters accompanying the exhibition Louise Bourgeois. Unconscious memories, Villa Medici welcomed artist and Louise Bourgeois close friend Mâkhi Xenakis and author Laura Accerboni for a free meeting entitled Tenendo per mano l’ombra. Philosophy and poetry, around the exhibition “Louise Bourgeois. Unconscious memories”.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Villa Medici guided tour ticket with access to exhibitions: 14€ full price / 11€ reduced price / Free admission subject to conditions
Guided tour of the gardens, the historic apartments of Villa Medici and Louise Bourgeois’ works (duration: 1h30). For tour times, see Individual tours.
This ticket gives access to all four current exhibitions.
Works by Louise Bourgeois are accessible only on the guided tour route.
The presentation of Louise Bourgeois at Villa Medici benefits from an exceptional loan from the Fondation Louis Vuitton pour la Création, Paris, for the work No Exit.
Sainte Sébastienne is on deposit with the Mobilier national as part of the Re-enchanting Villa Medici.
IMAGES CREDITS
Cover image: No Exit, Louise Bourgeois © Agostino Osio
Louise Bourgeois, No Exit, 1989, Wood, painted metal and rubber, 209.5 x 213.3 x 243.8 cm, Fondation Louis Vuitton pour la Création, Paris. Photo: Rafael Lobato © The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York and SIAE, Italy
Louise Bourgeois, Sainte Sébastienne, 1997, tapisserie de lice, textile, laine, 338 x 245 cm, Manufacture des Gobelins, Collection du Mobilier national en dépôt à la Villa Médicis. Photo: Daniele Molajoli.