London gallery Hauser & Wirth is inaugurating its new space on Savile Row with an exhibition of fabric works made by Louise Bouregeois in her late life, between 2002 and 2006. Bourgeois felt that the world was full of neglect and people starved of recognition and the satisfaction which comes from it. By choosing to sustain a committed art practice for more than half a century, she claimed a degree of comfort by recognizing and examining herself. She is best known for moody large scale bronze sculptures. Initially, the small fabric drawings included in the Hauser & Wirth show seem like a big departure from those works that evoke human figurative forms and mine the psychological worlds of anxiety, fear, and deception. But if a bit quieter, the varied mix of small abstract works that present playfully simple juxtapositions of colors and patterns on found fabric, resemble much of Bourgeois's body of work as evidence of her desire to effect psychological repair. Bourgeois called sewing her way "to keep things together and make things whole". She wasn't the only one who found he act of performing a craft incompatible with worry and anger. Mind/Body scientists like Herbert Benson at Harvard and Robert Reiner at NYU argue that insistent, seemingly monotonous activities like knitting and embroidery may evoke a physical and mental calm that interrupts stale thinking, reduces depression and boosts health over time. So! Find a craft you love- the more rhythmic and repetitive, the better. The fabric works are on display through December 18th. See more after the jump.
(Via Opening Ceremony)
