Kukje Gallery is pleased to present Les Fleurs, an exhibition of new drawings and sculptures by Louise Bourgeois. This is Bourgeois’ fourth solo show at Kukje Gallery, her previously shows were held in 2002, 2005 and 2007. This landmark exhibition of all new work celebrates the artist’s centennial birthday and showcases her remarkable and passionate talent.

One of the most distinguishing traits of Louise Bourgeois is that her art practice cannot be defined by a single framework. Her works have repeatedly pushed both formal and conceptual boundaries and she is well known for pursuing a unique and deeply personal vocabulary while engaging other schools such as Surrealism and Modernism. Having only gained recognition later in life, the artist is widely held as having played a vital role in the history of late twentieth century art. A celebrated wit and dark social observer, Bourgeois’ work ranges from her elegant drawings to abstract formalism and hand-sewn patchworks to dolls, monumental bronzes and room-sized installations. Among this diverse practice, the exhibition at Kukje Gallery focuses on Bourgeois’ drawing. Louise Bourgeois takes drawings very seriously and her larger works are often informed by her many works on paper — a commitment the artist has maintained since childhood when she would help draw patterns for her family’s textile company.

Bourgeois has continued to transcribe her emotions and memories on paper as if she was writing them in diary. She has observed that the repetition of drawing helps her to find peace of mind and a source of healing. For the exhibition, Bourgeois has chosen the title Les Fleurs which speaks to her adoption of flower and women as symbols for vitality, desire and sexuality. Her drawings, painted in a bold red color, illustrate passion, blood and a feminist belief in the power of women.

Born in Paris in 1911, Louise Bourgeois worked, often experimentally, with materials varying from plaster, latex, bronze and marble. Rediscovered in the 1970s, she is one of the most important living artists of the twenty first century. Bourgeois became the first female artist to hold a retrospective exhibition at MoMA in New York in 1982. Since then, she has exhibited widely internationally and was awarded the Lion d’Or at the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999. A retrospective of her work traveled internationally from 2007 to 2009.