Never before exhibited in Nevada, “Untitled” (L.A.) is one of the artist’s famous “candy-spill” artworks. Here, Felix Gonzalez-Torres finds beauty in the everyday by transforming green, cellophane-wrapped candies into an arrangement of color, form, and texture. Viewers are encouraged to take and eat the candy, creating a moment of engagement that is sensory and personal.

Gonzalez-Torres (1957 - 1996) was an openly gay artist at a time when LGBTQIA+ identities weren’t always publicly acknowledged. The intimate nature and fluctuating structure of his candy works is often interpreted as being related to tragedy in his private life. “Untitled” (L.A.) was created in 1991, the same year that his beloved partner Ross Laycock lost his life due to an AIDS-related illness. 

The gradual depletion and replenishment of the 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 be viewed 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 everyone to experience in a personal way.

“Untitled” (L.A.) will remain at the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art from September 2021 to September 2023. From September 24, 2021 to January 22, 2022 it will be on view in the group exhibition I Am Here. The artwork has previously appeared at institutions in Europe and the United States, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas, Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst in Berlin, Germany, and the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea in Galicia, Spain.

More Info: Barrick Museum