Spider Woman, Original Exhibition Museum Poster, Louise Bourgeois

Throughout her long career, Bourgeois used the motif of spiders across many different media, from drawings and prints to monumental outdoor sculpture. The theme was initially associated with her mother, a tapestry restorer, but grew to take on broader associations as a strong female protector against evil and ruin. This example, dating from the last decade of the artist’s life, represents a female spider with a human face, contained within an egg-shaped spherical form, alluding to the power of the divine feminine and mother earth. The vibrant scarlet and pink ink are colors Bourgeois favored in her late work. This poster was specifically created in 2005 for Galerie Karsten Greve located in Cologne, Germany.