Portrait 1963

This portrait by Louise Bourgeois seems to emerge from the earth, built up with mud-like clay. Look at the earthy colours, the browns and reds that give it a feeling of something ancient and elemental, like it was formed over millennia. I can imagine Bourgeois working on this, piling up handfuls of clay, letting it dry, then adding more. It’s additive, repetitive. There’s this tension between control and chance as the form takes shape. You can feel the artist’s hand in the rough texture, in the little peaks and valleys. Bourgeois’ touch is present. The surface is so tactile, so worked. It reminds me of some of her other sculptures but also the work of Eva Hesse, who similarly explored process and material. It's like they are all in conversation about form and feeling. The ambiguity of the image gives it strength. It invites us to bring our own interpretations. It seems to say that meaning is multiple and mutable, always evolving.