Centre Pompidou Highlights Louise Bourgeois Drawing 'Altered States' Ahead of Major Graphic Works Exhibition
The Facts
On June 22, 2026, the Centre Pompidou in Paris highlighted Louise Bourgeois's 1992 drawing "Altered States" (États modifiés), executed in red ink and fabric dye on paper, ahead of a major exhibition of the artist's graphic works. The drawing, measuring 48 x 60.5 cm, is part of the museum's Cabinet d'art graphique collection and depicts a double figure of a child arched between a mother's legs, referencing Bourgeois's recurring themes of maternity, violence, and memory. The work features the artist's handwritten notes, including phrases like "I have a mother or I am a mother" and "Red is active and blue is passive." The exhibition "Louise Bourgeois, extrême tension. Dessins et gravures," co-organized with the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), runs from October 20, 2026, to February 21, 2027, at the BnF.
The Signal
The focus on "Altered States" underscores the centrality of drawing in Bourgeois's practice, which she described as a "journal" for exorcising daily fears. The motif of the "hysterical arch" first appeared in her 1992 Venice Biennale cell "Cell (Arch of Hysteria)" and recurs in later sculptures and fabric works. For collectors and curators, this exhibition signals a deepening institutional engagement with Bourgeois's graphic oeuvre, which has often been overshadowed by her sculptures. The BnF show, drawing from both the Pompidou and BnF collections, offers a rare opportunity to study the artist's intimate, self-analytical drawings and their evolution across mediums, reinforcing her standing as a pivotal figure in post-war and contemporary art.
- Artists: Louise Bourgeois
- People: Jerry Gorovoy
- Museums: Centre Pompidou, Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
- Locations: Paris
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