Details
In 1999, Louise Bourgeois released What Is the Shape of This Problem?, a portfolio of nine diptychs that pair text and image. The texts, drawn from Bourgeois’s diary entries spanning approximately forty years, explore themes of isolation, fear, and emotional conflict. The images, based on her drawings from the 1990s, visually interpret these psychological states. The series includes works such as The Telephone Call from the Slammer, The Small Hours, and Art Is a Guaranty of Sanity, reflecting Bourgeois’s lifelong engagement with trauma and memory. The project was realized in collaboration with SOLO Impression, under the direction of Judith Solodkin, and co-published by Galerie Lelong in Paris and New York.
Technical Specifications
The portfolio consists of nine diptychs printed on smooth, wove Arches paper, each sheet measuring 12 x 17 inches (30.5 x 43.2 cm). The edition includes 25 sets, with additional proofs including 14 artist’s proofs, 4 printer’s proofs, 3 trial proofs, 2 hors commerce, and 1 bon à tirer. The letterpress text and lithographic images were created using photo-enlargements of Bourgeois’s drawings. Each sheet is signed “LB” in pencil at the lower right.
Alongside the works on paper, What Is the Shape of This Problem? also includes three metal pieces: The Hour Is Devoted to Revenge, I Pick on Everyone Dead or Alive, and Hole of Anxiety. These sculptures, rendered in steel, extend Bourgeois’s interrogation of psychological distress into three-dimensional form, reinforcing her themes of emotional intensity and confrontation.
Network
Louise Bourgeois, SOLO Impression, Galerie Lelong, Judith Solodkin
Courtesy
The Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, Isabella Linton
