Mike KelleyMemory Ware Flat No. 48
Art Bridges Collection
Felix Gonzalez-Torres"Untitled" (L.A.)
About
As one of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s powerful candy-spill works, "Untitled" (L.A.) finds beauty in the everyday by transforming a bounty of green, cellophane-wrapped candies into a dazzling arrangement of color, form, and texture. Viewers are encouraged to take and taste the candy, activating the work in a way that suggests a wide range of profound meanings. The participation of each viewer creates a moment of engagement that is sensory and personal. The intimate nature and fluctuating structure of Gonzalez-Torres’s candy works are often interpreted as being related to tragedy in the artist’s private life.
"Untitled" (L.A.) was created in 1991, the same year that Gonzalez-Torres’s beloved partner Ross Laycock lost his life due to an AIDS-related illness. The gradual depletion and replenishment of Gonzales-Torres’s candy-spills has been seen as metaphoric, seeming to represent the deterioration of a human body ravaged by illness. At the same time, it can also be seen as a type of immortality generated through ritual remembrance and continual recreation. However, Gonzalez-Torres avoided assigning explicit interpretations to his candy works, preferring them to remain available for all to experience in a personal way.
Artist
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Dimensions
overall dimensions vary with installation, ideal weight: 50 lb. (22.7 kg)
Credit Line
Jointly owned by Art Bridges and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Date
1991
Medium
Green candies individually wrapped in cellophane, endless supply
Object Number
AB.2018.20
Provenance
(Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York, NY), 1991; (Galerie Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, Belgium); Ranbir Singh [1953-2012], New York, NY; to (Christie’s, London, England), April 22, 1998, lot 12; purchased by Howard Rachofsky, Dallas, TX, 1998; to (Christie’s, New York, NY), November 10, 2015, sale 3790, lot 43B; purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2015; to Art Bridges, TX, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, as co-owners, 2018
Partner Story
Considering Representation, Identity and Community Through Art at the RIT City Art Space
As Rochester, New York’s only free downtown art gallery, the is always looking for ways to meet the challenges of making art more accessible. Through borrowing Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s “Untitled” (LA), the venue embraced visitor-driven art experiences and asked complex questions surrounding identity, community and representation. With support from Art Bridges, the City Art Space set out to fulfill its mission to spark inspiration, conversation, and community connection through art, culture, and education.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres Untitled (L.A.) at Rit City Art Space Rochester New York
