The abstract matter of eroticism

The exhibition Abstract Erotic: Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, Alice Adams at the Courtauld Gallery, on view from 20 June to 14 September 2025, reunites for the first time in nearly sixty years the three artists who participated in the landmark exhibition Eccentric Abstraction, curated by Lucy Lippard in New York in 1966. That pioneering show highlighted a new approach to abstract sculpture - sensory, corporeal, and laden with erotic and feminine associations - anticipating many of the themes later embraced by feminist art. In this contemporary re-reading, the sculptures explore abstract eroticism through unconventional materials such as latex, rubber, metal, paper, and mesh, creating visceral, ambiguous forms that oscillate between attraction and repulsion. Louise Bourgeois presents works in pigmented latex and rubber, including Fillette (Sweeter Version), provocatively suspended, and organic pieces like Le Regard, evoking internal, bodily forms that generate a tension between life and decay. Eva Hesse contributes fluid, ephemeral sculptures - meditative objects made from netting, paper, and metal that resemble arms, organs, or dangling sacs: a visual and tactile symphony of ambiguous sensuality. Alice Adams, the least known of the three, presents works in industrial wire and fencing - architectural pieces that reflect on containment and the urban body, offering a sharp commentary on materiality and identity through interwoven structures. Curated by Professor Jo Applin and Alexandra Gerstein, the exhibition critically revisits the 1966 show, presenting fewer than 30 works including sculptures, reliefs, and drawings. This intimate format reinforces the viewer’s physical closeness to the pieces, recalling the tactile experience that Lippard once celebrated as “Feminist Art.” Abstract Erotic does not aim to shock overtly, but rather to provoke a sensory and imaginative engagement, restoring emotional centrality to the corporeal in an increasingly digital age. In a London season rich with experimentation, the Courtauld’s exhibition stands out for its conceptual boldness: it revives fragile materials shaped by time and celebrates the tension between beauty and imperfection, minimalism and the body, irony and depth. Visitors are invited into a space where abstract eroticism becomes a courageous exploration of psyche and desire, affirming the return of an aesthetic unafraid of complexity or the strangeness of reality.