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.