Felix Gonzalez-Torres forever!

Felix Gonzalez-Torres is TI's great conceptualist master of the 90's. I remember going to the new MOMA upon its re-opening and feeling sheepish about taking one of his stacked posters. But that was the intent. Genius.

The Steelwood Chair 2008 by the Bouroullec Brothers

TI saw the "Steelwood" chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec floating in the window of the MOMA design store on Spring Street and stopped dead in his idle tracks. Organic bonded to inorganic. Warmth fused with coldness. Romance and technology. If this isn't the chair of 2008 then I can't imagine what is! And affordable too with prices hovering around $530. Very instant collectible!

Image of Color Chart via ny times.com

When the freshly expanded MOMA reopened I took out a membership for the sole purpose of slumming through that pristine new space. I spent virtually an entire summer on the second floor contemporary gallery stalking the Richters and Gursky's and that massive black and white Tyombly. And then ADD set in. It felt like the subsequent exhibits (except for the Doug Aitken "Sleepwalkers" extravaganza, which ironically didn't require you to ENTER the museum) have been not so compelling. Well Spring 08 sees MOMA sizzling with two must see shows. There is the greatly anticipated Olafur Eliasson retrospective, "Take Your Time" which threatens to re-orient even the way you physically experience the space of the museum. And there is the current hit "Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 To Today."

Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Untitled: Canada: 1995

There are certain artists who come along with ideas that not only define, but also change their times. Warhol in the 60's . Beuys in the 70's. Koons for the 80's and this is where I get myself in trouble- Felix Gonzalez-Torres for the 90's. Yes, yes Damien Hirst is the monolithic art-star of that era but the aforementioned hall of fame is personal and idiosyncratic. The thing I love about Felix Gonzalez-Torres is that I grew up with his imagery in NYC yet had no idea who he was, in the same that Warhol, Beuys and Koons invaded and warped my consciousness before I even learnt to process the "cool images" as "art". That is the power of the greatest art. It confronts you at the strangest turn, even when you don't know its name. This is why I was so excited today at The Strand bookstore, when I found this legendary volume on Gonzalez-Torres, published by The Guggenheim Museum in 1995 on the occasion of his solo exhibition . It has long been out of print and was reissued by the Museum this year, when Gonzalez-Torres was chosen to represent the United States at the 2007 Venice Biennale.