Soft Landscape II 1967

Louise Bourgeois coaxed this 'Soft Landscape II' into being; a meeting of round and vertical forms, a kind of earthy, dark monumentality. I imagine her hands shaping the yielding material, pushing and pulling, to realize her vision. She knew what to leave, as much as what to add. There’s something so vulnerable about the surface, so skin-like. It has a kind of topography: the material itself seems to remember the touch of the artist. You know, there are things in here that could be read as hills and valleys, but maybe also bodies; the landscape softened with sexuality. It sits there—monumental and present. It’s so much about gravity and weight. There’s a sense of honesty to it, as though it’s been allowed to be what it is, to speak for itself. When you look at other sculptor’s work, like Brancusi, you can see they’re all in a similar conversation, sharing ideas across time, inspiring creativity. It’s one of the things that makes art so special—this ongoing dialogue, open to endless interpretations.