Provenance:

Private Collection, Toronto

Note:

The influence of General Idea on the Canadian and international contemporary art world is profound. The collective was founded in 1969 by AA Bronson, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal. Since this coming together they produced an astonishing body of work in both traditional forms as well as unconventional media which have become the model for future collaborations of artist collectives.

General Idea created a distinct pop-inspired style which challenged contemporary notions of aesthetic and counter-culture. Contemporary media encompassing video, performance, publishing, painting, sculpture, installation, and even a beauty pageant was used as a form of art to subvert traditional techniques, critique the art world and understand why media and aesthetic form culture. Best known for their 1987 re-design of Robert Indiana's "Love" into a quadrant symbol spelling "AIDS,” General Idea gained popular exposure as the colourful repeating logo was transformed into paintings, prints and posters seen around the world.

Working together for over 25 years, they held 123 solo exhibitions and were included in 149 group exhibitions internationally, including the Paris, Sydney, Sao Paulo and Venice Biennales and Documenta. In 2011, the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto) mounted "General Idea: Haute Culture," a 25-year retrospective. Partz and Zontal died of AIDS in 1994 while AA Bronson continues his work as an artist, curator and educator.