Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Cuban born American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres is known for his straightforward, minimalist art that has depth in every piece. A minimalist artist to his core, most of his artwork includes simple, everyday objects such as candy, mirrors, stacks of paper and strings of light bulbs. His art involves and invites the public into a new space where the viewer can interact with the art, find their own meaning in the work and at times take a piece of the instillation home. Gonzalez-Torres attended university in Puerto Rico and later moved to New York city where he graduated with a BFA from Pratt institute. Four years later he received his MFA from New York University and the International Center of Photography. Gonzalez-Torres lived in New York from 1967 to 1995 and is where he created most of his artwork. Felix Gonzalez Torres passed away in 1996 while living in Miami, Florida from an AIDS related illness. 5 6

Candy Works

From 1990-1993 Felix Gonzalez-Torres made several installations of candy. "Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) is a unique work of art because it is an instillation piece with a large amount of candies and also considered a portrait. Gonzalez-Torres' named the piece after Ross Laycock who was his partner of 8 years. Ross and Gonzalez-Torres both suffered from HIV and both passed away from AIDS related illnesses. Ross died in 1991 at the age of 32 while Felix Gonzalez Torres passed away a few years later at the age of 39 in 1996. As the exhibit goes on the viewers take pieces of the candy, resulting in the same physical loss that Ross experienced in his life. Another aspect of this loss is the compliance in the general public and how they treated AIDS patients at the time. This piece also speaks on the loss that Felix Gonzalez-Torres experienced and the way that he created memorialization for his parter. 2

"Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)

Felix Gonzalez-Torres created a list of parameters for each candy exhibit that he created. In doing so he left many unanswered questions that created variables in each exhibit. In all there are 20 candy installations that were created, and any number can be on exhibit at any time. It's not uncommon for more than one to be on display at a time. It is up to the Exhibitor what candies are used, the shape of the candies are placed and if or how often the candies are replenished throughout the exhibit. The requirements are that there always is an "ideal weight" that the exhibit must start with and most correlate with the weight of one or two men. The medium is always an endless supply of wrapped candies. The dimension always varies for each installation. "Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) is one of the most well known of the series, and one of his more personal pieces. 1 3

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One of the most interesting aspect of this exhibit getting over the notion of being in an institution where you are traditionally not allowed to touch or get close to exhibits. Gonzalez-Torres invites you to break these boundaries and invites you to interact and almost be a part of the installation. Not only are you allowed to touch the piece you can eat it or even take it home and frame it depending on which work you see of Gonzalez-Torres. 4

Perfect Lovers

Another impactful work by Felix Gonzalez-Torres is "Untitled" (Perfect lovers). Two clocks are hung side by side and start at the same time. As the installation goes on, like many clocks they fall out of sync and will display different times. This is another representative of Ross and Gonzalez time together and the way that Ross has passed on and Gonzalez-Torres is still alive. The parameters for this work is that both clocks must be standard, commercial clocks that are 13 1/2." Both of the clocks must be touching, above the head height and start at the same time. An interesting component of this work is that if one clock stops they must be reset to start over. Before Ross' death Felix Gonzalex-Torres drew a rendering of the two clocks and wrote to him “Don’t be afraid of the clocks, they are our time, the time has been so generous to us. We imprinted time with the sweet taste of victory. We conquered fate by meeting at a certain time in a certain space. We are a product of the time, therefore we give back credit were it is due: time. We are synchronized, now forever. I love you.” It wasn't until after Ross's passing that this work came to life.5

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All of Torres' work is titled "untitled" with more details on the specific piece in the parenthesis next to it. While minimalism is his goal a reoccurring theme in his work is using large quantities of those items. Aside from candy another medium he uses is large stacks of paper. On display now at the Milwaukee Art Museum is "Untitled" (Veterans Day Sale). This piece is a stack of papers is titled Veterans day sale with the words printed on each paper. Parameters set for these include the ideal height, width and depth of the piece. Parameters for this piece are that the sheets of paper have an exact height. With his work he changes the way that art is also handled because it is no longer about a tangible piece the same way a sculpture that has been created. He transforms his minimalism into conceptual art, where it is no longer about a specific object but an idea. His art is a testament to our own mortality, powerful metaphors and his undying love for Ross. 3

A full archive of his work and exhibits can be found at the Felix Gonzalez Torres Foundation.

References

  1. Alexander Conway Félix González-Torres: Conceptualising the HIV Epidemic Feli, February 25, 2022. ↩

  2. Chambers-Letson, Josh Takano. “CONTRACTING JUSTICE: THE VIRAL STRATEGY OF FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES.” Criticism 51, no. 4 (2009): 559–87. ↩

  3. Ho, Christopher. “Within and beyond: Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s ‘Crowd.’” PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art 23, no. 1 (2001): 1–17. ↩↩

  4. Lydia Figes, Remembering artists impacted by the 1980s AIDS crisis Art UK, February 20, 2020. ↩

  5. Nathan Pugh From Candy to Lightbulbs, Felix Gonzalez-Torres Showed Life and Loss Through Everyday Objects Smithsonian Magazine, October 24. 2024. ↩↩

  6. [Rounthwaite, Adair. “Split Witness: Metaphorical Extensions of Life in the Art of Felix Gonzalez-Torres.” Representations 109, no. 1 (2010): 35–56. ↩

  7. Stefanie Graf, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Haunting Works of an Artist Afflicted with AIDS The Collector, May 30, 2021. ↩