Abstract Erotic: Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse & Alice Adams

Name: Abstract Erotic: Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse & Alice Adams
Start: 2025-06-20
End: 2025-09-14
Location: Courtauld Gallery

Where? Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand When? 20th June to 14th September 2025 10 AM to 6 PM (Mon-Sun); Last entry 45 mins before closing Price? £14 · See courtauld.ac.uk Parking: Nearby car parks Buses: 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 77A, 91, 176 Bus fares Trains: The closest station is Temple Circle District Other nearby stations: Covent Garden and Embankment Train fares

The Courtauld Gallery will be exploring the work of three pioneering artists whose extraordinary body of work turned 20th-century sculpture on its head.

Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse and Alice Adams were the only female artists included in the ground-breaking 1966 exhibition Eccentric Abstraction, put on by the influential New York art critic and curator Lucy Lippard. On the lookout for 'feminist art', Lippard dubbed the playful way they engaged with the female form through string, foam, latex and plaster as 'abstract erotic'.

By using humour and abstract forms the artists were able to ask important questions about sexuality and female politics.

No title by Eva Hesse: c.1966 (c) Hauser & Wirth Collection + The estate of Eva Hesse

Using the gallery spaces in bold and unconventional ways, the exhibition will collect together important loans from public and private collections throughout Europe and America - many of which are rarely shown due to their fragile nature. Internationally recognised scholars will then explain their relevance to the art of the 1960s until now.

What the art critics say...

The Guardian: ★★★★ "Compelling"; Evening Standard: ★★★★ "Thrilling"; The Observer: "Exhilarating"

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How to get to the Courtauld Gallery

Bus and train fares to Courtauld Gallery
Fare zone	Cash	Oyster & Contactless				Travelcard
	Single fare	Single fare		Daily cap		One day
	Single fare	Peak	Off-peak	Peak	Off-peak	Anytime	Off-peak
Bus	n/a	£1.75		£5.25		£6
Train (zone 1)	£7	£2.90	£2.80	£8.90	£8.90	£16.60(zone 1-4)	£16.60(zone 1-6)
Train (zone 1-2)	£7	£3.50	£2.90	£8.90	£8.90
Train (zone 1-3)	£7	£3.80	£3.10	£10.50	£10.50
Train (zone 1-4)	£7	£4.60	£3.40	£12.80	£12.80
Train (zone 1-5)	£7	£5.20	£3.60	£15.30	£15.30	£23.60(zone 1-6)
Train (zone 1-6)	£7	£5.80*	£3.80*	£16.30	£16.30	£23.60(zone 1-6)
* Journeys between zone 1 and Heathrow are always charged at the peak rate. Prices are correct as of 2nd March 2025