The Stretch (#2)

Cat. No. 920, unique variant 2

The Stretch (#2)

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2007
Themes
Abstraction
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Paper
Dimensions:
plate: 60 1/4 × 35 11/16" (153.1 × 90.6 cm); sheet: 59 7/8 × 39 7/8" (152.1 × 101.3 cm)
Signature:
"Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp., pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 8 unique variants outside the edition to incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with other plates in multi-panel works. Some include extensive hand additions. When the plate is used alone, 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:
Untitled, no. 4 of 11, from the series, "Extreme Tension"
"The Stretch (#2)"
"Il Pleut dans Mon Coeur (The Stretch #1)"
"Que Veux-Tu de Moi?"

Related Works in the Catalogue:
"The Fear Is Inside You!!!"
"A Stretch of Time"
"Anthropomorphic View of the World"
Untitled, no. 2 of 4, from the series, "Have a Little Courage"

About the edition, "The Stretch":
Within the edition, selective wiping and sheet size vary slightly from impression to impression. There is 1 known variant impression of the only state, outside the edition. It is seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. There are 2 known cancellation proofs, each with a large "X" drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate.
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 and paper type could not be documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from an impression in MoMA's Collection. The overall sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:
Soft ground etching, with watercolor, gouache, pencil, and colored pencil additions
Inscription:
"THE STRETCH" lower left comp., artist's hand, pencil.
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY

The Stretch

2006-2009

States
The Stretch
The Stretch
Unique Variants
Untitled, no. 4 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
The Stretch (#2)
Il Pleut dans Mon Coeur (The Stretch #1)
Que Veux-Tu de Moi?

Series

2007

Extreme Tension

Related Works in the Catalogue

The Fear Is Inside You!!!
A Stretch of Time
Anthropomorphic View of the World
Untitled
Knots
Untitled, no. 2 of 4, from the series, Have a Little Courage

Related Works in Other Mediums

Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled