As a complement to the exhibition Louise Bourgeois. The Unconscious of Memory at the Galleria Borghese, Villa Medici presents two works by Louise Bourgeois: the installation No Exit and the tapestry Sainte Sébastienne in the Reading Room, exceptionally open to the public.

A fundamental artistic figure of the 20th century that defies any classification and label, Louise Bourgeois (1911, Paris - 2010, New York) has influenced countless artists with her work mainly marked by themes of memory, childhood, and metamorphosis. From June 21 to September 15 in Rome, the Galleria Borghese dedicates an exhibition titled Louise Bourgeois. The Unconscious of Memory, which at Villa Medici will be extended with the installation No Exit, presented for the occasion in the historic halls until September 5.

No Exit evokes the childhood home where Louise Bourgeois, as a child, used to hide in the basement to spy on her father. The staircase imagined by the artist leads nowhere, losing its functional aspect to take on an almost spiritual dimension that invites reflection and introspection. Two wooden spheres are placed on the sides of the steps, suggesting a phallic shape, while two rubber hearts hidden under the stairs claim the place of love in human relationships.

The installation No Exit (1989) resonates with another work by the Franco-American artist exhibited in the historic rooms of Villa Medici, permeated by reflections on the body and memory: the tapestry depicting Sainte Sébastienne (1997), owned by the collections of the Mobilier national and housed at Villa Medici since 2022. This tapestry woven by the Manufacture des Gobelins is based on an etching made by Louise Bourgeois in 1992. The artist stages a female version of the martyr Saint Sebastian, outlined with a general expressive synthesis: a female body with generous curves is pierced by black arrows thrown from all sides. Louise Bourgeois appropriates the traditional iconography of the Christian martyr to evoke her personal suffering. "Sainte Sébastienne is a self-portrait," she affirmed.