LOUISE BONNET

Early Years

Born in Geneva in 1970, Louise Bonnet grew up in a French-speaking Swiss household before relocating to Los Angeles, where she now lives and works. She studied at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris before earning her BFA from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. The shift from the subdued, tradition-bound atmosphere of Switzerland to the expansive eccentricity of Southern California has informed the tension and theatricality that define Bonnet’s art.

Prior to devoting herself fully to painting, Bonnet worked as an illustrator, developing a graphic precision and stylised exaggeration that would later become hallmarks of her figurative artworks.

Artworks

Louise Bonnet’s artworks are rooted in a distinctly contemporary kind of figuration—one that wrestles with repression, discomfort, and corporeality, while drawing from Old Master painting and pop surrealism alike.

Monumental Figures and the Grotesque

Bonnet’s early works established her interest in the absurdity and tragedy of exaggerated bodies. Her figures—often swollen, with elongated limbs, swollen cheeks, or drooping flesh—evoke a bodily excess that borders on cartoonish yet remains deeply human. In paintings like The Hours (2018) and The Bath (2019), the artist renders large, fleshy bodies in tightly cropped compositions, heightening feelings of claustrophobia, shame, or solitude. The detailed handling of light and surface recalls the works of Renaissance painters, yet her distorted forms channel the satirical spirit of Philip Guston and the physical tension of Lucian Freud.

Melancholy and Myth

In later series, such as her contributions to the 59th Venice Biennale (2022), curated by Cecilia Alemani, Bonnet turned increasingly to allegory and mythology. Her figures—trapped mid-transformation or caught in futile acts—convey an existential anguish laced with deadpan absurdity. Paintings like Pisser Triptych (2021) combine classical compositional structures with bodily functions and surreal, grotesque mutations, pushing the boundaries of propriety and beauty in contemporary art.

Influences and Technique

Bonnet cites a wide range of influences, from the pathos of Matthias Grünewald and the grandeur of Rubens to the cinematic suspense of Alfred Hitchcock and the comic contortions of Tex Avery. Her meticulous technique and chiaroscuro palette further connect her paintings to European art history, while her subjects reflect a contemporary unease with embodiment, self-exposure, and psychological pressure.

Exhibitions

Louise Bonnet has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions at important institutions and blue-chip institutions. A selection of important exhibitions are provided below.

Solo Exhibitions

• Louise Bonnet and Elizabeth King: De Anima, Swiss Institute, New York (2025)
• Louise Bonnet: Reversal of Fortune, Galerie Maz Hetzler, Berlin (2024)
• Louise Bonnet: Entanglements, Hollyhock House, Los Angeles (2023)
• Louise Bonnet: 30 Ghosts, Gagosian, New York (2023)
• Louise Bonnet: Sphinxes, Gagosian, Basel (2021)

Group Exhibitions

• Once Within a Time: 12th International, SITE Santa Fe (2025)
• A Leisurely Stroll - The Tenth Anniversary of The Long Museum, Long Museum, Shanghai (2023)
• Dark Light: Realism in the Age of Post-Truths, Aïsthi Foundation, Beirut (2022)
• Women Painting Women, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (2022)
• The Milk of Dreams, Venice Biennale, Venice (2022)

Instagram

Louise Bonnet’s Instagram can be found here.

Critical Reception

Bonnet’s paintings have been widely discussed in publications such as Artnet News, ARTnews, and The New Yorker.

Louise Bonnet FAQs

Ocula | 2025