Louise Bonnet, a Los Angeles-based painter known for her cartoonish yet sophisticated depictions of the female nude, discusses her latest work ahead of two major exhibitions. Her two-person show with Elizabeth King, titled "De Anima," opens at the Swiss Institute in New York, focusing on shared approaches to figuration that balance objecthood and liveliness. Bonnet also created a new series for the next edition of the SITE Santa Fe International biennial, opening in June. In an interview with ARTnews editor Emily Watlington, Bonnet explains her shift to tighter cropped compositions emphasizing routine gestures like tying shoelaces or fastening bras, inspired by World War II British spies and films like Rosemary's Baby.
This article matters because it highlights Bonnet's rising prominence in the contemporary art world, following her inclusion in the 2022 Venice Biennale. Her work offers a fresh, feminist take on the female nude, freeing it from both moralizing and misogynist conventions while capturing the body as a site of pleasure and discomfort. The dual exhibitions at the Swiss Institute and SITE Santa Fe underscore her growing institutional recognition and the ongoing dialogue between artists exploring figuration and the body.