Es Devlin on Felix Gonzalez-Torres's Perfect Lovers
Radio 3 presents a radiophonic art exhibition, as 30 of the worldβs most creative minds choose their favourite work from the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Ep 12 Es Devlin.
Art critic Alastair Sooke, in the company of some of the leading creatives of our age, continues his deep dive into the stunning works in the Museum of Modern Art's collection, whilst exploring what it really means βto seeβ art.
Today's edition features British stage designer and sculptor Es Devlin. Devlin has made large scale touring stage sculptures in collaboration with BeyoncΓ©, Kanye West Adele, U2, and the Royal Opera House in London, as well as designing the London Olympic Closing Ceremony in 2012. She has selected Felix Gonzalez-Torresβ Perfect Lovers - in which two synchronized clocks, like those typically found in offices and public spaces, are displayed side by side. One will inevitably stop before the other. Created whilst Felix Gonzalez-Torres's partner was ill, it embodies the tension that comes from two people living side-by-side as life moves forward towards death. Laycock died of AIDS six years before Gonzalez-Torres's own death in 1996. What will one of the world's greatest set designers see in this simple, poignant work?
Producer: Tom Alban
Main Image: Felix Gonzalez-Torres,"Untitled" (Perfect Lovers), 1991. Clocks, paint on wall, overall 14 x 28 x 2 3/4" (35.6 x 71.2 x 7 cm). Gift of the Dannheisser Foundation, The Museum of Modern Art, 177.1996.a-b. Β© 2019 The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation, Courtesy Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
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Episode 12: Untitled (Perfect) Lovers, by Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1991)
Selected by British stage designer and sculptor Es Devlin
Broadcasts
- Tue 29 Oct 2019 22:45ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3
- Sun 26 Jul 2020 14:45ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 FM
- Sun 2 Aug 2020 00:15ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
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