![Composite of images of Ed Ruscha, Jay-Z, Louise Bourgeois, Ari Marcopoulos, Gwyneth Paltrow, with black and white cartoon rabbits going down holes in a red line](https://media.guim.co.uk/2afaa8e8a3b7e3cb657d93ed0321a9e3912bbbfb/0_0_5000_3000/1000.jpg)
Bourgeois thinking
The great Paris-born, New York-dwelling artist Louise Bourgeois left an indelible mark on the art world over many decades until her death in 2010, aged 98. A retrospective, The Woven Child, at London’s Hayward Gallery charts her later work with fabrics and textiles.
![Louise Bourgeois](https://media.guim.co.uk/76be53c97f5c9bb3b6dc5dbc50d2ca811df9c058/0_172_3441_2065/1000.jpg)
Ruscha-ing around
Since opening in 1968, the Hayward has hosted many famous shows, from a key early Bridget Riley retrospective in 1971 to Anish Kapoor’s first major show in 1998. In 2009, they mounted a retrospective for the great LA painter Ed Ruscha. OOF, as the fella himself might say.
![Ed Ruscha](https://media.guim.co.uk/3d7de3543d4c524d24f652f5a2b6ee26891f5f87/420_220_2280_1368/1000.jpg)
Conceptual goop
As well as in galleries around the world, Ruscha and his fellow west coast conceptualist John Baldessari appear on the walls of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Gooped-up California home – as displayed in Architectural Digest. The less said about the “sculptural, freestanding onyx bar” in the living room, however, the better.
![Gwyneth Paltrow](https://media.guim.co.uk/1755db4eb8d63f8f46397f486638fc97a35c78e2/0_393_3248_1948/1000.jpg)
Hov is where the art is
In 2006, Jay-Z released Kingdom Come, a fairly unloved comeback album, following his “retirement”. On Hollywood, Jay-Z and Beyoncé trade lines about celebrity, with a nod to friends “Chris and Gwyneth”. Jay’s mid-to-late period has largely disappointed – 2013’s Magna Carta Holy Grail also didn’t hit earlier heights. The cover art for that record was shot by Ari Marcopoulos.
![Jay-Z](https://media.guim.co.uk/273efe6591b8ade4c7e2633d9bf13ac4f33a7b33/0_14_2286_1372/1000.jpg)
The mummy returns
Photographer/film-maker Marcopoulos is the partner of artist Kara Walker, best known for her epic 2014 sphinx sculpture A Subtlety, Or the Marvelous Sugar Baby. In 2020, Walker installed Fons Americanus at Tate Modern for its Turbine Hall series. In 2000, the inaugural Turbine commission was from … Louise Bourgeois, including her giant spider, Maman.
![Ari Marcopoulos](https://media.guim.co.uk/20aef0996c5cc7cdf91fdc3bfadb66f89a8d5751/343_370_1465_879/1000.jpg)
Pairing notes
Watch Face the visceral terror of the spider by giving Arachnophobia a spin – rent it everywhere.
Eat Get in the Bourgeois state of mind along London’s South Bank at Bermondsey bistro Casse-Croûte. Expect suitably French fare – your boeufs and pigeons en croute and cuisse de lapin farcie. Bon appétit!
![black and white cartoon rabbits going down holes in a red line](https://media.guim.co.uk/b559bd798bcdd8c5b8f63d9ca5675a6478cc4f8d/0_0_5000_678/1000.jpg)