Cat. No. 690, unique variant 6, in 822
Untitled, no. 5 of 6, from the series, I Give Everything Away
- State/Variant:
- Only state, unique variant
- Date:
- 2010
- Series:
- I Give Everything Away
- Alternate Title:
- The Unfolding
- Themes
- Abstraction, Nature
- Techniques
- Etching
- Support:
- Paper (3 attached sheets)
- Dimensions:
- plate (a and c) (in 2 vertical parts) (overall) (each): 58 7/8 × 35 9/16" (149.5 × 90.3 cm); sheet (overall): 60 × 106" (152.4 × 269.2 cm)
- Signature:
- panel (c): "Louise / Bourgeois" lower right comp.
- Publisher
- Osiris
- Printer
- Wingate Studio
- Edition:
- Unique
- Edition Information:
- This is one of 11 unique variants outside the edition to incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. These all include extensive hand additions and sometimes partial inking 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:
Untitled, no. 2 of 2, from the series, "What Hurts"
“The Unfolding”
“The Unfolding (#2)”
“The Unfolding (#3)”
“The Unfolding (#4)”
Untitled, no. 5 of 6, from the series, "I Give Everything Away”
See Related Works in the Catalogue:
“À Baudelaire (#1)”
"Love Is As Big As the Sky"
Untitled, no. 3 of 4, from the series, "Have a Little Courage"
“À Baudelaire (#9): The Impossible”
“The Geometry of Desire (#1)”
About the "The Unfolding" edition:
Within the edition, selective wiping is consistent from impression to impression. Three impressions (2/9, 3/9, and 4/9) have proofing of the "À Baudelaire" plate on the verso. - 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 type of paper and mediums of the hand additions and signature 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): Soft ground etching, with hand additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching, with hand additions - Installation Remarks:
- This panel is one of 6 which constitute a single work of art. All of these panels are to be exhibited together in the indicated sequence.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Open to compare works
Select a work in the diagram below
Only state, unique variant
2010
A
B
The Unfolding
2007-2010
States
Unique Variants
Related Works in the Catalogue
Related Works in Other Mediums
Not in MoMA's Collection
3 Graces
2002
Not in MoMA's Collection
3 Graces
2002
Medium: Engraved drawing and wax pencil on India ink prepared board
Dimensions: sheet: 25 1/4 x 19 5/8" (64.1 x 49.8 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Not in MoMA's Collection
Untitled
1949
Not in MoMA's Collection
Untitled
1949
Medium: Ink and charcoal on paper
Dimensions: sheet: 19 5/8 x 8 5/8" (49.8 x 21.9 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Not in MoMA's Collection
Forêt (Night Garden)
1953
Not in MoMA's Collection
Forêt (Night Garden)
1953
Medium: Painted wood
Dimensions: overall: 37 x 18 7/8 x 14 5/8" (94 x 47.9 x 37.1 cm)
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Publication Excerpts
Louise Bourgeois,
I Give Everything Away,
New York, Osiris, 2010Bourgeois's entire text for this series appears on the panels cited below.
No. 1:
I
Give
every thing
away
No. 2:
I
DISTANCE
myself
from
myself
No. 3:
from
what
I
love
most.
No. 4:
I
leave
my
home
No. 5:
I
leave
the
nest
No. 6:
I
am
packing
my
bags