"Untitled" (Blue Mirror) 1990

This "Untitled (Blue Mirror)" piece, by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, is made from a stack of blue paper. It's not paint, but it still uses colour to create a mood. It reminds me that everything we see, even something as simple as colored paper, has this potential to be art. There’s something so approachable about this work, it’s just a stack of paper after all, but the blue is so calming, almost like looking at the sky. Each sheet has this subtle texture and the color shifts ever so slightly as you move around. I keep thinking about what it means to take one of these sheets. It changes the sculpture; your participation alters the piece. It's like the act of taking becomes part of the art itself. I'm reminded of Yves Klein and his use of International Klein Blue. He wanted his art to evoke a feeling, to be about pure sensation. I think Gonzalez-Torres does that here, too, it's about loss and memory, but also connection. It stays with you.