: Hasan Bülent Kahraman
Louise Bourgeois is one of the most important artists of the 20th century. Throughout her long life, spanning the past era she has made invaluable contributions to contemporary art. Bourgeois' efforts could be summarized in three points. First and foremost, it would be extremely difficult to find another artist whose art and life are so intertwined. Perhaps she did not invent her life as a work of art, but she certainly derived her art from her life. Her interesting life, with all its dimensions, stages and facades, was a deep, broad and extensive source for her art. Thus, in her art, Bourgeois thoroughly examined the phenomenon we call memory, without detaching it from time, place, identity and belonging, but rather, by consciously delving into these concepts. In this respect, she had a significant impact on artists of a later generation. Last but not least, femininity was a subject in its own right for Bourgeois. In dealing with issues of her own being, in choosing her life story as the backdrop to her art she managed to transform femininity into a whole new subject. Aided by the information provided by her life long contact with psychoanalysis, she scrutinized the feminine condition as an extensive vortex, and built it anew.
Living her life as a miracle fulfilled, she had left behind a body of work worthy of veneration. Now, that body of work is at Akbank Sanat with 54 pieces of artwork.