Couple

Cat. No. 839, unique variant 1

Couple

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2006
Alternate Title:
Swaying
Themes
Abstraction, Nature
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate (a): 55 1/8 × 7 7/8" (140 × 20 cm); plate (b): 55 1/8 × 7 7/8" (140 × 20 cm); sheet: 56 × 25 1/4" (142.2 × 64.1 cm)
Signature:
panel (b): "Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp., pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 20 unique variants outside the edition to incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. They all include extensive hand additions and sometimes partial inking of the plate. When the plate is used alone (sometimes printed twice on the same sheet), the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with another plate, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
“Couple”
“Swaying”
“Swaying”
“Swaying”
“Swaying”
"Swaying"
"Swaying"
“Tous Les Deux (Swaying)”
Untitled, plate 1 of 5, from the illustrated book, “Duration and Intensité”
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, "Evening of My Life"
"Where My Motivation Comes From"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
“Eccentric Growth I”
“Eccentric Growth II”
“Eccentric Growth III”
“Eccentric Growth IV”
“Eccentric Growth V”
“Eccentric Growth VI”
("Eccentric Growth VII" was destroyed by the artist)
“Eccentric Growth VIII”
“Eccentric Growth IX”
Untitled, no. 4 of 4, from the series, "Inner Truths or Outer Truths"

About the "Swaying" edition:
Within the edition, selective wiping varies slightly from impression to impression. There is 1 known impression of the only state outside the edition.
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 color of hand additions 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 on paper in MoMA’s Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:
Soft ground etching, with watercolor and pencil additions
Inscription:
panel (a): "Couple" lower left comp., pencil, artist's hand.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

Swaying

2006-2007

States
Swaying
Swaying
Unique Variants
Couple
Swaying
Swaying
Swaying
Swaying
Swaying
Swaying
Tous Les Deux (Swaying)
Untitled, plate 1 of 5, from the illustrated book, Duration and Intensité
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, Evening of My Life
Where My Motivation Comes From

Illustrated Book

2007

Duration and Intensité

Series

2007

Evening of My Life

Related Works in the Catalogue

Eccentric Growth III
Eccentric Growth IV
Eccentric Growth IX
Eccentric Growth V
Eccentric Growth VI
Eccentric Growth VIII
Toi et Moi
Leaves
Untitled, no. 4 of 4, from the series, Inner Truths or Outer Truths
Untitled (Branch with Tall Leaf Cluster), in Les Arbres (3), from the editioned series of portfolios, Les Arbres (1-6)
The Fall
I Pick on Everyone, Dead or Alive, no. 4 of 9, from the series, What Is the Shape of This Problem?
Eccentric Growth I
Eccentric Growth II

Related Works in Other Mediums

Untitled
Abstract Figure
Untitled
Eccentric Growth
Concentric Growth
The Fingers
Untitled