Felix Gonzalez-Torres Retrospective at Wiels, Brussels

The first leg of a traveling retrospective of Felix Gonzalez-Torres opened at Wiels in Brussels from January 16 to April 25, 2010. Curated by Elena Filipovic, the exhibition was designed to be reinstalled midway by another artist—Danh Vo took over from March 5. This approach mirrored Gonzalez-Torres's own practice of regularly reconfiguring his works within a single show. The show occupied two floors: the first featured small-scale works from the 1980s, including early paper stacks; the second floor, accessed through the former grain silo where the 20-meter-long light string 'America' (1994/1995) hung, was divided by the golden bead curtain 'Golden' (1995) and presented paired works exploring themes of coupling, death, and separation, such as the twin mirrors 'Orpheus Twice' (1991) and giant silver rings 'Untitled' (1995). The final room contrasted the intimate vulnerability of 'Throat' (1991)—a few cough drops on a handkerchief on the floor—with the twelve-bulb garland installation 'Stockholm' (1992), transforming the industrial space into a magical environment. The retrospective continued at Fondation Beyeler in Basel (May 21–August 29, 2010) with Carol Bove, and at Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt (January 28–April 25, 2011) with Tino Sehgal.