Louise Bonnet, Photo by Katrina Dickson, © The artist
Louise Bonnet (b. 1970, Geneva) is a Swiss artist known for her figurative paintings and works on paper that blend beauty and grotesqueness, exploring themes of discomfort, melancholy and psychological tension. Her exaggerated, distorted figures, often depicted in domestic or surreal settings, have bulbous limbs, swollen features and eyeless faces, reflecting a sense of internal conflict and absurdity. Bonnet’s work is influenced by a wide range of sources, from Old Master painting and Surrealism to underground comics, with a particular focus on gender and sexuality, which she presents in exaggerated or indeterminate forms.
Bonnet began her artistic career in Los Angeles in 2008 after transitioning from illustration and graphic design. Her move from acrylics to oils allowed her to add more light and volume to her stark compositions. The distorted human figures in her work, with their physical and emotional extremes, evoke a sense of both vulnerability and monumentality, often creating an unsettling but compelling presence. Bonnet’s art blends a sharp wit with an exploration of darker, more intimate emotions and her representations of sex and gender are often marked by exaggeration and surrealism.
Bonnet’s works have been exhibited in prestigious galleries worldwide, including Gagosian, Galerie Max Hetzler and are part of the permanent collections of the Hammer Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Her work was also featured in the 59th Venice Biennale.