Felix Gonzalez-Torres. "Untitled" (Perfect Lovers). 1991

Felix Gonzalez-Torres "Untitled" (Perfect Lovers) 1991

  • MoMA, Floor 2, 208 The David Geffen Wing

Initially set to the same time, these identical battery-powered clocks will eventually fall out of sync, or may stop entirely. Conceived shortly after Gonzalez-Torres’s partner was diagnosed with AIDS, this work uses everyday objects to track and measure the inevitable flow of time. When one of the clocks stops or breaks, they can both be reset, thereby resuming perfect synchrony. In 1991, Gonzalez-Torres reflected, “Time is something that scares me. . . or used to. This piece I made with the two clocks was the scariest thing I have ever done. I wanted to face it. I wanted those two clocks right in front of me, ticking.”

Gallery label from 2019
Medium
Clocks, paint on wall
Dimensions
Overall 14 x 28 x 2 3/4" (35.6 x 71.2 x 7 cm)
Credit
Gift of the Dannheisser Foundation
Object number
177.1996.a-b
Copyright
© 2020 The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation, Courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
Department
Painting and Sculpture

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