Felix Gonzalez-Torres American, born Cuba, 1957-1996
About this artwork
The self-portrait “Untitled” is composed of words and dates that are installed as a friezelike text near the ceiling of this gallery. This uncommon and deceptively simple approach exemplifies the quiet, conceptual nature of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s work. “Untitled” interweaves personal milestones with communal events of our historical era. The artist did not limit the inscriptions to events that occurred between his birth and death. In fact, as the co-owner of the work, the Art Institute must add and subtract events, thereby granting the installation—and the artist himself—a form of renewable life. This piece reminds us that all human identity is mutable and open-ended.
Date
Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.
The Art Institute of Chicago, bequest of Carolyn Spiegel; Watson F. Blair Prize, Muriel Kallis Newman, Sara Szold and Modern and Contemporary Discretionary funds; Samuel and Sarah Deson and Oscar L. Gerber Memorial endowments; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee Fund Purchase: gift of Jean and James E. Douglas Jr., Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein, Collectors Forum, Doris and Don Fisher, Niko and Steve Mayer, Elaine McKeon, and Danielle and Brooks Walker Jr.
Félix González-Torres, Donald Moffett, Scott Watson, Strange Ways: Here We Come: Felix Gonzalez Torres and Donald Moffett, exh. cat. (Vancouver: Fine Arts Gallery, University of British Columbia, 1990), 30.
Bernard Brunon, Autoportraits contemporains: here’s looking at me, exh. cat. (Lyon: ELAC, 1993), 5, 69 (color ill.), 136.
Amanda Cruz, Russell Ferguson, ed., Susanne Ghez, Ann Goldstein, bell hooks, Joseph Kosuth, Charles Merewether, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, exh. cat. (Los Angeles: The Museum of Contemporary Art, 1994), 33.
Nancy Spector, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, exh. cat. (New York: Harry N. Abrams and Guggenheim Museum Publications, 1995), 44, 68.
Gerald Matt, Cuba: Los mapas del deseo = Landkarten der Sehnsucht = maps of desire. (Wien: Kunsthalle Wien, 1999), 148, 149.
David Frankel and Madeleine Grynsztejn, Carnegie International 1999/2000, exh. cat. (Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, 1999), 111.
Lisa G. Corrin, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, exh. cat. (London: Serpentine Gallery, 2000), 10, 24 (color ill.), 40 (color ill.), 41 (color ill.), 58 (color ill.), 82.
Ivo Mesquita and Adriano Pedrosa, F[r]icciones: Versiones del sur, exh. cat. (Madrid: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 2000), 178-179 (color ill.).
James Rondeau, “Untitled,” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 29, 2 (2002), 86-87 (color ill.).
Martin Clark, Caroline Collier, and Catsou Roberts, This Storm Is What We Call Progress: Haluk Akakçe, Martin Boyce, Jyll Bradley, Matthew Buckingham, Chen Chieh-Jen, Julie Mehretu, Lee Mingwei, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Nobuko Tsuchiya, JMW Turner, exh. cat. (Bristol: Arnolfini, 2005), 18, 38-39 (color ill.), 40 (color ill.), 59 (color ill.), 64-65 (color ill.), 74-75 (color ill.), 84-85 (color ill.), 115.
Jane Alison, ed., Colour after Klein: Rethinking Colour in Modern And Contemporary Art
(London: Barbican Art Gallery, 2005), 94-95 (color ill.).
Heike Foll, Petra Reichensperger, Gregor Stemmrich, Frank Wagner, Susanne Weiß, and Michael Wetzel, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, exh. cat, (Berlin: Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst and Hamburger Bahnhof, 2006), 41, 57, 72-73 (color ill.), 210.
José Luis Barrios, Sonia Becce, Guillermo Santamarina,Graciela de la Torre, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Somewhere, Nowhere = Algún lugar, Ningún lugar, exh. cat. (México City: Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2010), 44-45 (color ill.), 60-61 (color ill.), 66 (color ill.), 90.
Bill Arning, Justin Bond, David Deitcher, Glenn Fuhrman, Jim Hodges, and Joel Wachs, Floating a Boulder: Works by Felix Gonzalez-Torres & Jim Hodges, exh. cat. (New York: The FLAG Art Foundation, 2010), 23, 78-79 (color, ill.), 82-83 (color ill.), 88-89 (color ill.), 92-93 (color ill.), 95 (color ill.), 98 (color ill.), 100 (color ill.), 123.
Janet C. Bishop, Corey Keller, and Sarah Rehm Roberts, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: 75 Years of Looking Forward, exh. cat. (San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2009), 436.
Daniela Gregori, Veit Loers, David Riedel, Karola Kraus, Doris Krystof, Jeder Künstler Ist Ein Mensch!”: Positionen Des Selbstportraits (Every Artist is a Human Being!: Positions in Self-Portraiture), exh. cat. (Baden-Baden: Köln: Staatliche Kunsthalle; König, 2010), 60-61 (color ill.), 145.
Julie Ault and Roni Horn, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, exh. cat. (New York: Andrea Rosen Gallery, 2016) front and end cover (ill.), 8-9 (ill.), 11-26.
Elina Kountouri, with Donstantinos A. Papagerogiou, Maria D. Efthymiou, Maria Vlasopoulou, Peggy Dara, Kanis Kafantaris, Elli Droilia, and Elli Droulia, Portals, exh. cat. (Athens: NEON Foundation, 2021), 30, 92-95 color ills.), 288, 289 (color ill.), 393.
Rui Mateus Amaral, curator, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Summer, exh. brochure (Toronto: Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto, 2022), n.p.
Rashid Johnson and Hendrik Folkerts, ON THE BLUE STAGE: A Conversation between Rashid Johnson and Hendrik Folkerts, exh. booklet (Stockholm: Moderna Museet, 2024), 48-49 (color ill.), 50-51 (color ill.).
Josh T Franco and Charlotte Ickes, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Final Revenge (A Workbook), exh. workbook (Washington D.C.: National Portrait Gallery and the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 2024), 6-41, 56-57, 62-63.
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Untitled. An Installation by Felix Gonzalez-Torres as Part of the Visual AIDS Program, Dec. 1, 1989–Jan. 1, 1989, artist’s statement, no cat.
Vancouver, University of British Columbia Fine Arts Gallery, Strange Ways, Here We Come: Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Donald Moffett, Nov. 16–Dec. 10, 1990, no cat no.
Lyon, Espace Lyonnais d’Art Contemporain, Here’s Looking at Me/À mes beaux yeux: Autoportraits contemporains, Jan. 29–Apr. 30, 1993, no cat no.
Aspen, Tavelli Gallery, Group Show, July 15–Aug. 7, 1993, no cat.
Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Traveling, Apr. 24–June 19, 1994, not in cat; Washington, D.C., Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, June 16–Sept. 11, 1994; Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, Sept. 25–Nov. 6, 1994 (Washington D.C. only).
New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Mar. 3–May 10, 1995, not in cat; Santiago de Compostela, Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: A Possible Landscape, Dec. 12, 1995–Mar. 3, 1996; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Girlfriend in a Coma, Apr. 11–June 16, 1996, (Santiago de Compostela and Paris only).
Hannover, Sprengel Museum, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, June 1-Aug. 24, 1997, cat. 70, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, Sept. 6-Nov. 16, 1997; Vienna, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, Sept. 12-Nov. 1, 1998 (St. Gallen only).
Casino Luxembourg, Forum d’art Contemporain, Manifesta 2: European Biennial of Contemporary Art, June 28–Oct. 11, 1998, not in cat.
Vienna, Kunsthalle Wien, Cuba: Maps of Desire, Mar. 19–May 30, 1999, no cat. no.; Kunstraum Innsbruck, June 9–Sept. 18, 1999; Nikolaj Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center, June 18–Aug. 15, 1999.
Bilbao, Guggenheim Museum, International Currents in Contemporary Art, July 24, 1999–Jan. 9, 2000, no cat.
Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie International 1999/2000, Nov. 6, 1999–Mar. 26, 2000, no cat. no.
London, Serpentine Gallery, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, June 1–July 16, 2000, no cat no.
Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Versiones del Sur: No es sólo lo que ves: pervirtiendo el minimalismo, Dec. 12, 2000–Feb. 19, 2001, no cat no.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Points of Departure II: Connecting with Contemporary Art, Nov. 17, 2001–June 9, 2002, no cat.
Dijon, Le Consortium, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Nov. 21, 2001–Feb. 2, 2002, no cat.
Art Institute of Chicago, Collection Rotation, June 2003–Apr. 2008, no cat.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Between Art and Life: The Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Collection, July 1, 2004–January 21, 2007, no cat.
Bristol, Arnolfini, This Storm Is What We Call Progress, Sept. 10-Oct. 23, 2005, no cat no.
Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof Museum für Gegenwart, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Oct. 1, 2006–Jan. 9, 2007, no cat no.
Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Somewhere/Nowhere, Sept. 5–Nov. 3, 2008, no cat no.; Mexico City, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo, Feb. 27–May 30, 2010, no cat no.
Art Institute of Chicago, Inaugural Installation of the Modern Wing, May 15¬, 2009–July 2011, no cat.
New York, FLAG Art Foundation, Floating a Boulder: Works by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Jim Hodges, Oct. 1, 2009–Jan. 31, 2010, no cat no.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 75 Years of Looking Forward: The Anniversary Show, Dec. 16, 2009–Jan. 19, 2011, not in cat.
Brussels, WIELS Contemporary Art Center, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Specific Objects without Specific Form, Jan.16–Apr. 25, 2010, extended to May 2, 2010 (curated by Elena Filipovic, Jan. 16–Feb. 28, 2010, reinstalled by guest artist curator Dahn Vo, Mar. 5–May2, 2010), cat. forthcoming; Riehen, Fondation Beyeler, May 22 to Aug. 29, 2010 (curated by Elena Filipovic, May 22–July 25, 2010, reinstalled by guest artist curator Carol Bove, July 29–Aug. 29, 2010); Frankfurt, Museum Für Moderne Kunst, Jan. 29–Apr. 25, 2011 (curated by Elena Filipovic, Jan. 29–Mar. 14, 2011, reinstalled by guest artist curator Tino Sehgal, Mar. 18–Apr. 25, 2011).
Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Every Artist is a Human Being!: Positions in Self-Portraiture, Sept. 11–Nov. 21, 2010, extended to Jan. 9, 2011, no cat no.
Art Institute of Chicago, Inaugural Installation of the Modern Wing, July 21, 2011–Mar. 8, 2015, no cat.
Seoul, PLATEAU, Samsung Museum of Art, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Double, June 21–Sept. 28, 2012, no cat. no.
Margate, Turner Contemporary, Self: Image and Identity-self-portraiture from Van Dyck to Louise Bourgeois, Jan. 24–May 10, 2015, no cat.
Art Institute of Chicago, The New Contemporary, Dec. 13, 2015–on going.
New York, Andrea Rosen Gallery, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, May 3–June 18, 2016, no cat. no.; Milan, Massimo De Carlo, May 21–July 20, 2016; London, Hauser & Wirth, May 27–July 30, 2016 (New York only).
Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, 1989: the End of the 20th Century, Jan. 24–May 19, 2019, not in cat.
Athens, former Public Tobacco Factory, Portals, June 11–Dec. 31, 2021, no cat. no.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Summer, Mar. 10–May 29, 2022 (preview Mar. 9), no cat. no.
Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto, Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Winter, June 1–July 31, 2022, no cat. no.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Afterimages: Echoes of the 1960s from the Fisher and SFMOMA Collections, Oct. 15, 2022–Ongoing, no cat.
Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Seven Rooms and a Garden: Rashid Johnson and Moderna Museet’s Collection, Sept. 30, 2023-Sept. 8, 2024 (extended to Sept. 22), no cat.
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