Louise Bourgeois: I have been to hell and back. And let me tell you, it was wonderful., a retrospective exhibition of the French-born American artist Louise Bourgeois is currently on view at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan. Marking the largest retrospective of the artist's work in Japan in 27 years, the exhibition presents more than 100 works in a variety of media, spanning from sculpture, painting, drawing, fabric, to installation, highlighting the artist's entire oeuvre.

The exhibition is organized into three chapters. The first chapter, “Do Not Abandon Me,” presents works that address the ambivalence and complexity of motherhood, including the sculpture Nature Study (1984), and explores the theme of abandonment anxiety that has both haunted the artist throughout her life and served as an artistic inspiration throughout her practice. The second chapter, “I Have Been to Hell and Back,” deals with the negative emotions that have dominated Bourgeois’ life: anxiety, guilt, suicidal impulses, murderous hostility, fear of intimacy and dependency, and fear of rejection. In particular, the installation The Destruction of the Father (1974), exhibited in this chapter, captures the fantasy of revenge against a domineering father. Finally, the last chapter, “Repairs in the Sky,” examines how Bourgeois’s art restored the precarious balance between the conscious and unconscious, maternal and paternal, past and present in a balanced perspective. The installation Clouds and Caverns (1982–1989) offers a glimpse into the complexity of human anxiety and inner emotions.

The exhibition exemplifies how the artist sublimated her childhood experiences into art, showcasing paintings and videos that have never been shown in Japan, including the iconic sculpture Maman (1999). The exhibition runs through January 19, 2025.