Felix Gonzalez-Torres

by Nancy Spector

The artist Felix Gonzales-Torres is the subject of this monograph, published to coincide with a retrospective exhibition of his work organized by the Guggenheim Museum in New York. He is described as one of the most innovative and generous of contemporary artists - his stacks of printed paper and brilliantly-coloured candy are freely available for his audience to take, while his strings of light-bulbs and evocative photographs may be installed to any configuration the owners desire. Gonzalez-Torres invites viewers to project their own ideas, interpretations, or even their dreams onto his poetic work, leading to an artistic collaboration which extends beyond the walls of any gallery.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Queer

228 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[oskar]

Balanced, beautiful and powerful collection of texts and images concerning the artist I have now come to love the most.

[Martin]

Wonderful book even if you are not familiar with the artist. He was among the many artists in the 1980s and 90s whose work protested the right-wing shift in American politics and the lean towards intellectual laziness by Americans at the time. He was openly gay and much of his work addressed the AIDS crisis. He hoped to reach a wide audience, not just academia, by making his work an experience of some kind, whether visual or interactive. The book also includes academic texts that are vital to his work, or, I'd say, are just vital, period. These include authors such as Brecht, Rilke, Barthes, Duras, Sontag.

The book's editor was a friend, and there is a very loving feel to the book, the need (in grief and loss) to get it right. The artist died in 1996 from AIDS and he had already lost his lover, which he processed in his art which attempted to activate empathy for the communities and individuals who were being ravaged by this disease. This book was given to me by a friend a month after I lost my husband to cancer, another disease characterized by wasting, and it helped me conceptualize both the trauma that I needed to overcome, how I wanted to proceed with the memorial/celebration of life, and how I wanted to actually celebrate his life through art and design.

[Fernanda Armada]

Me lo recomendó un artista invitado en Virreina y me encontré el libro en la biblioteca de la PGC, es uno de los mejores libros de arte que he leído, Felix Gonzalez Torres tienes mi corazón. Hice una cantidad enorme de notas y cuando iba a la mitad del libro perdí la libreta así que lo empecé de nuevo y por fin tengo las notas, por eso me tomó tanto tiempo acabarlo

[Priyanshu Thakur]

i feel lucky to own this book

[Jenae]

Upon flipping through the pages when I first got this book and just looking at the pictures, I didn't get it, but I really love this artist.

[Roderick Vesper]

Hands down, one of the best collections of critical writings on any artist.

[Mark B.]

I can't wait to read Nancy Spector's views into the world of this fascinating and influential artst. He's been a favorite of mine for years.

[Terence]

Excellent text, great documentation.

[Elisa]

An extensive and very beautiful retrospective of one of the best artists of all time.

[Joe Fusaro]

Carrie Mae Weems recommended this one. It didn’t disappoint. Nancy Spector does a beautiful and eloquent job of walking us through the major themes and thinking behind the artist’s work.