Louise Bourgeois has called the spiral ​“an attempt at controlling the chaos.” In materials as diverse as wood, steel, latex, marble, plaster, resin, hemp, ink, pencil, crayon, woodcut, and watercolor, Bourgeois investigated every imaginable manifestation of the spiral.

To her, it represented the concepts of control and freedom, as well as the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Despite the numerous materials Bourgeois used to explore spirals, she most often depicted them in red, blue, or black. These colors had deep personal meaning to Bourgeois, who said,

“Color is stronger than language. It’s a subliminal communication.”