Felix Gonzalez-Torres was a Cuban-born American conceptual artist who lived and worked primarily in New York City. Known for creating installations that use everyday materials like light bulbs, clocks, paper, and candies, his works often invite participation from the public, who can sometimes take away pieces of the installations, challenging notions of ownership, value, and permanence. Existing in the boundary between art and politics, Gonzalez-Torres’s works reflect his personal experiences as an openly gay man living through the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s. On long-term view outside the Gallery is “Untitled,” 1992–1995, a sculpture of twin marble pools, each holding 300 gallons of water. The rounded pools just barely touch at their centers, creating an almost imperceptible exchange of water. A recurring motif in Gonzalez-Torres’s work, the paired circles poignantly echo themes of partnership, love, loss, and intimacy.

–Jamiee Shim, from the Glenstone Field Guide