Year: 1968
Medium: watercolor on paper
Dimensions: work size: 18.1 x 29.5 cm (7 1/8 x 11 3/8 in.) frame size: 39.4 x 48.9 cm (15 1/2 x 19 1/4 in.)
Acquired from Tomio Koyama Gallery, 2023
While widely celebrated as a sculptor, Bourgeois also created numerous paintings since the beginning of her career. Her watercolor drawings explore various motifs such as plants, landscapes, and figures, which can be considered to be the origins of her subsequent sculpture pieces. The pervasive presence of red within her works carries an especially powerful and intense significance for Bourgeois. To her, red represents negative emotions, embodying elements such as blood, flesh, violence, and pain. This work is thought to depict a seascape. The colossal white waves undulate violently toward the red sky. It is as if Bourgeois’ heightened emotions are transformed into waves, moving toward the viewer as they paint the sky red. Within Bourgeois’ works, the human body is portrayed as merging with natural elements, taking on a sense of symbolism in the way it is depicted. While Bourgeois does not seek to glorify the pain and suffering that is embedded in her own body and mind, it can be said that within her works, her trauma is liberated from the detested human form. Breasts take on the form of rounded mountain ranges, and hair extends and entwines like vines. Although such direct representations do not appear in this particular piece, it should be noted that the white blank space seen at the bottom center of the canvas strongly resembles the silhouette of a woman giving birth, a motif frequently depicted in Bourgeois’ works. From the vivid red sky and tumultuous swirling waves, both rendered in somewhat tender forms, viewers might envision the intertwining of pain with the joy of birth.
