Extreme Tension

Cat. No. 765

Extreme Tension

State/Variant:
Only state
Date:
2006

Themes
Body Parts
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 59 3/4 x 14 3/8" (151.8 x 36.5 cm); sheet: 61 7/16 x 14 15/16" (156 x 38 cm)
Signature:
"Louise / Bourgeois" lower right comp., pencil.
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
1 known impression of the only state, outside the unique variants
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition. There are 2 known cancellation proofs, each with a large "X" drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate.

There are 5 unique variants that incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. When the plate is printed alone, the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with other plates, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
"Extreme Tension"
Untitled, no. 1 of 11, from the series, "Extreme Tension"
"Ce N'est Pas Ta Faute"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
"Don't Swallow Me!"
"À Qui la Faute"
Impression:
Not numbered
Background:
Benjamin Shiff, the director of the Osiris imprint, collaborated with Bourgeois in a highly experimental phase of printmaking that occupied the last years of her life, from 2005 to 2010. He first established a working relationship with the artist in the 1990s, but the late period is particularly noteworthy for the innovative and complex large-scale projects that evolved at that time. Shiff made use of professional workshops for printing, but he oversaw the creation of the printing plates as Bourgeois worked on them in her home studio. He also provided assistance as she added extensive hand additions and texts, and as she combined individual compositions into multi-panel works and illustrated books.
Description:
Soft ground etching, with pencil additions
Inscription:
"first proof" lower left comp., pencil, artist's hand.
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
966.2011
This Work in Other Collections:
Tate Modern, London
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Extreme Tension

2006-2008

States
Extreme Tension
Unique Variants
Extreme Tension
Untitled, no. 1 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
Ce N'est Pas Ta Faute

Series

2007

Extreme Tension

Related Works in the Catalogue

Untitled, no. 6 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
Marriage, plate 5 of 24, from the series, Self Portrait
À Qui la Faute
Untitled
Hands
Don't Swallow Me!
Untitled (no. 28) in 10 AM Is When You Come to Me (set 8), from the series of installation sets (1-10)
Untitled (no. 7) in 10 AM Is When You Come to Me (set 8), from the series of installation sets (1-10)
My Hand

Related Works in Other Mediums

Give or Take
Décontractée