Point of Contact

Louise Bourgeois, 1967

MEDIUMBronze
DIMENSIONSH. 5, W. 10-1/2, D.7 in. (12.7 x 26.7 x 17.8 cm.)
LOCATIONThe Metropolitan Museum of Art

This bronze sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, a French-American artist known for exploring themes of the body and psyche, invites contemplation on connection and vulnerability through its evocative, abstract form.

Get the full experience in Art Whisper
Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store
ABOUT THIS WORK

Louise Bourgeois's 'Point of Contact' from 1967 is a compelling bronze sculpture that embodies her lifelong exploration of themes like the body, sexuality, and the unconscious. While she often exhibited with abstract expressionists and shared common ground with Surrealism and feminist art, Bourgeois deliberately remained unaffiliated with a single movement, allowing her a unique freedom in her artistic expression. This piece, created midway through her prolific career, showcases her ability to imbue abstract forms with profound emotional resonance. Bourgeois frequently drew from her childhood experiences, using art as a therapeutic process to confront anxieties and memories. The work's title itself, 'Point of Contact,' suggests an intimate connection, perhaps a moment of vulnerability or interaction, inviting viewers to consider the nature of touch and connection in both physical and psychological realms. Its organic yet ambiguous form is characteristic of her sculptural language, which often blurs the lines between figuration and abstraction, inviting multiple interpretations.

ART MOVEMENTS
Abstract ExpressionismFeminist artSurrealism
LOOK CLOSER

What to Notice

1

The smooth, undulating bronze surface

2

The way light reflects off its curves

3

The ambiguous, organic shape

1 more detail waiting — unlock in Art Whisper
Audio Deep Dive

This bronze sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, a French-American artist known for exploring themes of the body and psyche, invites contemplation on connection and…

Hear the full story in the app
THE ARTIST
Louise Bourgeois 1911–2010 · France

Louise Joséphine Bourgeois was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a variety of themes over the course of her long career including domesticity and the family, sexuality and the body, as well as death and the unconscious. These themes connect to events from her childhood which she considered to be a therapeutic process. Although Bourgeois exhibited with the abstract expressionists and her work has a lot in common with Surrealism and feminist art, she was not formally affiliated with a particular artistic movement.

Read Louise's full story in Art Whisper
See something wrong?
Open the App