The Winged Figure c. 1948 - 1991

Louise Bourgeois made 'The Winged Figure' from bronze. It strikes me as both totemic and precarious. Imagine Bourgeois in her studio, wrestling with the bronze, coaxing these shapes into being. There’s a bluntness here, a directness in the material, but also a surprising tenderness. The dark patina gives it a sense of age, like an artifact unearthed from some ancient civilization. The wings spread out, but they’re heavy, weighed down, almost like a burden rather than an instrument of flight. The form feels both strong and vulnerable. I think about other sculptors who worked with bronze, like Giacometti, but Bourgeois is in her own world entirely. There’s an intimacy in the way she handles the material, a personal language being spoken. It’s a conversation between the artist and her medium. It reminds us that artists build on each other’s work and inspire one another. And each artwork embodies a dialogue of uncertainty and ambiguity, offering multiple meanings to the viewer.