Louise Bourgeois
An Intimate Portrait - Femme Maison
Jean-François Jaussaud paints an intimate portrait of Louise Bourgeois (FR/US, 1911 - 2010). A major figure in the 20th century art world, she was a visual artist, sculptress and painter. Jean-François Jaussaud first met her in New York. An initial photo session in April 1995 led to numer- ous other encounters during the final 11 years of the artist’s life. Whether in her Brooklyn studio or at her house in Chelsea, Jean-François Jauss- aud manages to capture Louise Bourgeois as she is: mischievous, joyful, committed, but also unpredictable. He allows himself to be imbued by the atmosphere of the home, “its cell, its theatre” and is free to walk around the house in the middle of its studio-laboratory, a battlefield filled with memories. In doing so, the photographer observes the artist at the heart of her work, providing us with a portrait brimming with truth. They were to meet for the final time in February 2006.
(Text published by Photo Art Center Brussels on the occasion of the exhibition, Louise Bourgeois, an intimate portrait, from April 22 to June 28, 2022)