Louise Bourgeois' work defies classification, oscillating continually between abstract geometry and organic reality. She uses a range of materials from wood and plaster to marble and latex to explore universal themes-the body, childhood, maternity, and sexuality-from a deeply personal perspective, imbuing them with extraordinary emotional intensity. This comprehensive and richly illustrated monograph is chronological in approach, and brings together her works from early sketches and paintings to later sculptures and installations with which she has astonished the art world. Author Marie-Laure Bernadac skillfully weaves her insightful text with Bourgeois' own words from articles, films, and interviews to provide a unique and highly accessible study of this fascinating and complex artist.

With full-color illustrations of Bourgeois' most recent exhibitions and installations, along with fully updated bibliographic and biographical information, this new edition of the first significant monograph devoted to the artist pays homage to the life's work of this pivotal figure of the contemporary art world.

Marie-Laure Bernadac, formerly Curator at the Musée Picasso, Paris, is Chief Curator of Graphic Arts at the Musée National d'art Moderne (Centre Georges Pompidou).