Extreme Tension

Cat. No. 765, unique variant 1

Extreme Tension

State/Variant:
Only state, unique variant
Date:
2006
Themes
Body Parts
Techniques
Etching
Support:
Paper (3 attached sheets)
Dimensions:
plate (a and c) (each): 59 3/4 × 14 3/8" (151.8 × 36.5 cm); sheet: 59 1/2 × 63 1/2" (151.1 × 161.3 cm)
Signature:
panel (a): "Louise Bourgeois" lower center comp., pencil.
panel (b): "Louise Bourgeois" lower center sheet, pencil.
panel (c): "Louise Bourgeois" lower center comp., pencil.
Publisher
Osiris
Printer
Wingate Studio
Edition:
Unique
Edition Information:
This is one of 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"

"Extreme Tension" was 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.
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 paper type could not be fully documented because this work 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 red watercolor additions
panel (b): Pencil
panel (c): Soft ground etching, with red watercolor additions
Inscription:
panel (b): "extreme tension / extreme tension / extreme tension / extreme / tension." lower center comp., pencil, artist's hand.
© 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