Experience the strange beauty and emotional power of Louise Bourgeois’s art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales this summer

From tomorrow, visitors to the Art Gallery of New South Wales will discover the fearless creativity of the famed French–American artist Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) in the major exhibition Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day?, exclusive to Sydney and part of the Sydney International Art Series 2023–24.

Spanning two major exhibition spaces over two floors of our new North Building and including more than 120 works, this exhibition is the largest and most comprehensive display of Bourgeois’s work ever seen in the Asia-Pacific region, and one of the most extensive presentations ever dedicated to a woman artist in Australia.

The exhibition is curated by the Art Gallery’s head curator of international art Justin Paton and realised in close collaboration with The Easton Foundation, New York, which administers the legacy of Louise Bourgeois.

Born in Paris in 1911 and living and working in New York until her death in 2010, Bourgeois is considered one of the most influential artists of the past century and is revered for her daring and often confronting and intense exploration of themes such as family, motherhood, sexuality and mortality.

Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day? explores the full breadth of the artist’s practice across her seven-decade career, from large-scale sculptures through to fabric works, watercolours, works on paper, bronzes and more​.

Many of the works have never before been seen in Australia, including the iconic and monumental spider sculpture Maman 1999, which has been installed in the forecourt of the Art Gallery’s South Building as a dramatic first encounter with the work of this groundbreaking artist. Other major works being seen by Australian audiences for the first time include The Destruction of the Father 1974 and Clouds and Caverns 1982–89.

The exhibition continues in two distinct spaces in the North Building: the chronological rooms of ‘Day’, on lower level 2, and the darkened terrain of ‘Night’, downstairs in the Tank, a former Second World War fuel bunker, where viewers will encounter Arch of Hysteria 1993 and the immense mirror sculpture Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day? 2007, from which the exhibition takes its name.

The exhibition is enriched by rare videos and voice recordings of the artist, along with a haunting musical contribution by Sweden-based American composer and musician Kali Malone, available as part of the audio guide to the show, and projections of the artist’s psychoanalytic writings in the Tank re-presented by renowned American text-based artist Jenny Holzer, which give voice to Bourgeois’s dreams, desires and personal anxieties.

Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day? is proudly supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, as part of the Sydney International Art Series, bringing the world’s most outstanding exhibitions to Australia, exclusively to Sydney.

Minister for Arts, Music, Night-time Economy, Jobs and Tourism John Graham said: ‘Over her 80-year career, Louise Bourgeois became known as one of the great artists of her time. This exhibition is one of the most ambitious displays of a contemporary international artist ever staged in Australia. With this retrospective and the Kandinksy exhibition, the Art Gallery of New South Wales is bringing not one but two extraordinary Sydney International Art Series exhibitions to the city this summer.’

Art Gallery of New South Wales director Michael Brand said: ‘Bold artists inspire art museums towards new approaches. I am proud that Bourgeois’s art has inspired an exhibition that is itself exploratory and fully exploits the dramatic potential of our expanded art museum to reveal the ceaseless exploration of life’s extremes that characterised her work.

‘This ambitious exhibition is like none other presented at the Art Gallery, and we are very proud to bring this unique experience to Sydney this summer,’ said Brand.

Presented alongside the exhibition is a free film series, curated by the Art Gallery’s curator of film Ruby Arrowsmith-Todd, titled Louise Bourgeois goes to the movies, which spotlights the artist’s little-known interest in cinema. Featuring a selection of Bourgeois’s favourite films, this series is both a snapshot of a historical moment of New York film culture and an intimate chronicle of the movies which piqued the interest of a famously erudite, opinionated artist. Drawing together Hollywood melodrama, black comedies and midnight movies by the likes of John Waters and David Lynch, the series runs from 29 November 2023 to 10 March 2024 in the Domain Theatre. Free, bookings recommended.

Visit the Art Gallery over the opening weekend to enjoy free talks, performances and poetry inspired by the exhibition. Experience poetry readings and storytelling with Gadigal, Bidjigal and Yuin elder Auntie Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor under the protection of Maman in the forecourt of the South Building, created in response to key themes in the exhibition. Following the poetry readings, be entangled in a participatory performance by artist WeiZen Ho, starting at Maman and journeying through the North Building. On Saturday 25 November, learn more about Bourgeois’s art and writings in a panel discussion facilitated by Justin Paton with Philip Larratt-Smith and Léa Vuong, and then hear from distinguished British artist Tracey Emin about her friendship and collaboration with Bourgeois in discussion with the Art Gallery’s head curator of Australian art Wayne Tunnicliffe. On Sunday 26 November, hear Australasian perspectives on Bourgeois in a discussion led by the Art Gallery’s assistant curator of contemporary international art Emily Sullivan with local artists Nell, Julia Gutman and Wayne Youle.

Visit on Wednesday evenings during January for a special Bourgeois-themed series of Art After Hours events and join workshops inspired by her work while enjoying late-night access to the exhibition.

Exhibition visitors can join daily guided tours at 12pm and 2pm and at 6.30pm on Wednesdays, free with an exhibition ticket. Tours will also be available in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and Korean. Also, bring your own headphones to amplify your visit with a free immersive self-guided audio experience, featuring curator insights and original musical compositions.

A striking publication edited by exhibition curator Justin Paton accompanies the exhibition and features more than 200 images of Bourgeois’s work alongside contributions by filmmaker Jane Campion, author Chris Kraus, psychoanalyst Jamieson Webster and writings by the artist selected by The Easton Foundation curator Philip Larratt-Smith.

Louise Bourgeois: Has the Day Invaded the Night or Has the Night Invaded the Day? will be on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 25 November 2023 to 28 April 2024. Tickets are on sale now, alongside tickets for the Art Gallery’s concurrent 2023–24 Sydney International Art Series exhibition Kandinsky (on now until 10 March 2024). Buy tickets to both Louise Bourgeois and Kandinsky and save, or upgrade to an Art Pass, which will also provide access to the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia’s Sydney International Art Series exhibition Tacita Dean.

The Sydney International Art Series is a NSW Government initiative through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, in collaboration with the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia to bring the world’s most outstanding international artists and their works exclusively to Sydney.