Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996, b. Guáimaro, Cuba) is known for his significant contributions to conceptual art. Although the aesthetic is minimalist, the works are personal and politically engaged. Working in many media, including billboards, stacks of paper, candy, strings of light, photographic puzzles, and text-based portraits, Gonzalez-Torres believed audience participation was important to many of his works; viewers completed the work by taking a piece of candy or a poster. Love, loss, and queer identity during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s are major themes. His works showed that art could be both intellectually sophisticated, emotionally moving, and politically relevant.
During his life, Gonzalez-Torres presented solo exhibitions at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City (1995; travelled to Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, France); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1994); Brooklyn Museum, New York City (1989); and New Museum, New York City (1988). Gonzalez-Torres’ billboards have been installed in New York City, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. Notable biennials include the 45th Venice Biennale, Italy (1993) and the Whitney Biennial, New York City (1991). His work is in the collections of Centre Pompidou, Paris; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Center, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; The Museum of Modern Art, New York City; SFMoMA, San Francisco; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City; Tate, London; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City.
