Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Billboards
Introduction by Amada Cruz. Text by Matthew Drutt
In celebration of its 15th anniversary in 2010, Artpace in San Antonio, Texas, mounted an ambitious state-wide exhibition of 336 seminal billboards created by Cuban-born artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996). Developed with special permission from the artist's estate, this presentation was the first-ever comprehensive survey of Gonzalez-Torres's billboard works in the US. Situated deliberately in the public's path in four cities (Austin, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio), these artworks gracefully interrupted daily routines with poignant reflections on life, love, and humanity. The transcendent quality of Gonzalez-Torres's work was magnified in the Texas landscape, and the project garnered international attention for its unprecedented commemoration of this remarkable body of work. This book covers all the billboard pieces and serves as a mini-retrospective of this critical part of Gonzales-Torres's career.
Publisher: Radius Books / Artpace, San Antonio
Artists: Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Contributors: Amanda Cruz, Matthew Drutt
Designer: David Chickey
Publication Date: 2014
Binding: Hardcover
Dimensions: 9 1/2 x 11 1/2 in (24.1 x 29.2 cm)
Pages: 194
Reproductions: 120 color
ISBN: 9781934435809
Retail: $60 | £50
Status: Not Available
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996) began his art studies at the University of Puerto Rico before moving to New York City in 1979, where he attended the Whitney Independent Study Program, first in 1981 and again in 1983. He received his BFA from Pratt Institute, New York, in 1983 and his MFA from the International Center of Photography and New York University in 1987. From 1987 to 1991, Gonzalez-Torres was a part of the artist collective Group Material, whose collaborative, politically-informed practice focused on community engagement and activist interventions. Gonzalez-Torres died in 1996 from AIDS-related complications.
