ZURICH, June 7 ― A new exhibition entitled Louise Bourgeois & Pablo Picasso: Anatomies of Desire, presenting works by the two artists, will open during the Zurich Art Weekend, which runs from June 7 to 9.
It will feature 90 paintings, sculptures and works on paper from international public institutions and private collections.
The presentation, curated by Marie Laure Bernadec, will display intentional pairings of works, creating a dialogue between the two artists who never met in the flesh.
It takes the “couple” as its guiding theme, highlighting that both artists were united by an interest in sexuality as a subject.
Although there are striking similarities between their biographies and artistic approaches, Bourgeois and Picasso particularly diverged in their portrayals of the mother figure.
Picasso depicted pregnancy several times throughout his career, such as “Femme enceinte.” This sculpture depicts the swollen belly and enlarged breasts of the pregnant woman as objects of contemplation and desire, glorifying maternity.
Bourgeois's approach to motherhood in her oeuvre draws on her own personal experience of pregnancy, positioning in “Umbilical Cord” the infant outside of the mother's belly thanks to a transparent, womb-like sac.
“By placing these artists together for comparative analysis, this exhibition sheds new light on their oeuvres and rids us of the clichés of the virile painter armed with a phallic brush and the sculptress armed with a knife,” said curator Marie-Laure Bernadac in a statement.
Louise Bourgeois & Pablo Picasso: Anatomies of Desire will be on view at the gallery Hauser & Wirth Zürich from June 8 through September 14. Additional information can be found on the gallery's website: https://www.hauserwirth.com/ ― AFP-Relaxnews
