"Untitled" (Ross in L.A.) 1991

Felix Gonzalez-Torres made this sculpture with paper, and it looks like the simplest thing, but simplicity can be the most deceptive thing of all. It's a pile of paper, neatly stacked, almost like a minimalist sculpture. I think about Felix, who died too young. The title, "Untitled" (Ross in L.A.), suggests it might be about someone he loved. Maybe Ross was sick, and Felix was thinking about loss, about how people disappear bit by bit, like taking a sheet of paper from a pile. I wonder if he imagined people taking a sheet, interacting with the work, and in a way, taking a little piece of Ross with them? It's like he's saying, "Here, take a piece, remember him, remember love." It's a generous gesture, but also tinged with sadness. Artists are always in conversation with one another, across time, and sometimes that conversation is just about love and loss.