À Baudelaire (#8): Silence Is a Form of Intimacy

Cat. No. 727, unique variant 7

À Baudelaire (#8): Silence Is a Form of Intimacy

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2009
Themes
Nature
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Paper (2 attached sheets)
Dimensions:
plate (in 2 vertical parts) (overall): 59 5/16 × 37 5/16" (150.6 × 94.8 cm); sheet (overall): 60 × 67 3/4" (152.4 × 172.1 cm)
Signature:
panel (b): "Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 14 unique variants made from the same plate used in the edition "À Baudelaire." In some cases, these unique variants were printed in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. All include extensive hand additions and sometimes only a partial printing of the plate.

When the plate is used 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:
“À Baudelaire (#2)”
“À Baudelaire (#3)”
“À Baudelaire (#4)”
“À Baudelaire (#5)”
“À Baudelaire (#6)”
“À Baudelaire (#7)”
“À Baudelaire (#8): Silence Is a Form of Intimacy”
“The Geometry of Desire (#2)”
Untitled, no. 4 of 6, from the series "I Give Everything Away”

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
“À Baudelaire (#1)”
“À Baudelaire (#9): The Impossible”
“The Geometry of Pleasure (#1)”
“The Geometry of Pleasure (#3)”
“The Geometry of Pleasure (#4)"
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.
Curatorial Remarks:
The color of the hand additions, medium of the signature, plate dimensions, and paper type could not be documented because this impression is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the impression in MoMA’s Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:
panel (a): Pencil
panel (b): Soft ground etching, with watercolor, gouache, and pencil additions
State Changes and Additions:
Matrices:
Plate partially inked.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

À Baudelaire

2008-2010

States
À Baudelaire
À Baudelaire
Unique Variants
À Baudelaire (#2)
À Baudelaire (#3)
À Baudelaire (#4)
À Baudelaire (#5)
À Baudelaire (#6)
À Baudelaire (#7)
À Baudelaire (#8): Silence Is a Form of Intimacy
The Geometry of Desire (#2)
Untitled, no. 4 of 6, from the series, I Give Everything Away

Series

2010

I Give Everything Away

Related Works in the Catalogue

The Unfolding
The Geometry of Pleasure (#3)
Love and Kisses
À Baudelaire (#1)
Laurel Easton
The Geometry of Pleasure (#4)
The Geometry of Pleasure (#1)
À Baudelaire (#9): The Impossible
Eugénie Grandet
Untitled (Branch with Leaf Cluster), in Les Arbres (3), from the editioned series of portfolios, Les Arbres (1-6)
The Geometry of Desire (#1)
Les Fleurs

Related Works in Other Mediums

Untitled
Les Fleurs
Untitled, no. 1, from the series, Eugénie Grandet
Collage
Eye to Eye
Forêt (Night Garden)
Homage to Bernini
Baroque
Publication Excerpts

Louise Bourgeois,

À Baudelaire (#8): Silence is a Form of Intimacy,

2009

Text:
silence
seems
understanding
silence
is a form
of intimacy