Cat. No. 816

Les Traces

State/Variant:: Only state
Date:: 2006

Themes: Abstraction
Techniques: Etching
Support:: Paper
Dimensions:: plate: 55 11/16 × 19 5/16" (141.5 × 49 cm); sheet: 61 1/2 × 24 1/2" (156.2 × 62.2 cm)
Signature:: "Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher: Osiris
Printer: Wingate Studio
Edition:: 1 known impression of the only state, outside the unique variants
Edition Information:: Not issued as a published edition.

There are 2 unique variants made from the "Les Traces" plate. One is printed in red ink, and the other is part of the series "Extreme Tension." Both are seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.

There are also 2 known cancellation proofs. One is in MoMA's Collection (Accession Number: 967.2011).
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 documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person. The plate dimensions are from the cancellation proof in MoMA's Collection. The sheet dimensions were provided by the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
Description:: Soft ground etching
Inscription:: "les traces" (sideways) left middle margin, pencil, artist's hand; "premiére épreuve" lower middle margin, pencil, artist's hand.