A Felix Gonzalez-Torres Exhibition Forgets What He Was Fighting For
“Sweet Revenge” at the Reina Sofía gives the impression of a showcase of a second-generation Minimalist artist, emphasizing form over anything else.
Madrid is marking an important milestone with the opening of a major exhibition, titled Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Sweet Revenge, at the Reina Sofia Museum. The show is the artist's first solo exhibition in the Spanish capital and follows a landmark exhibition at the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea in Santiago de Compostela in 1995, just before Gonzalez-Torres' death from AIDS-related complications.
The exhibition has sparked curiosity because it seems to overlook many of Gonzalez-Torres' most politically charged works. Spanning seven galleries on the first floor of the Sabatini Building, the exhibition features over 50 works including iconic candy spills, text portraits, puzzles, beaded curtains, paper stacks, and photographs.
The show's title and central theme, "Sweet Revenge," comes from Gonzalez-Torres' 1991 work "Untitled" (Revenge), created after his return to Madrid as an adult. He later reflected on the experience, saying, "I returned to Madrid nearly twenty years later — sweet revenge."
The curators, artist Alejandro Cesarco and Nancy Spector, drew inspiration from Gonzalez-Torres' blue candy spill "Untitled" (Revenge) to frame the exhibition. They present the works through a parallel text titled "Methodology," outlining the principles, instructions, and responsibilities that guide the display. The exhibition, however, seems to focus more on the mechanics of Gonzalez-Torres' works than on their intended political messages.
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