For Frieze New York, Esther Schipper and Mitchell-Innes & Nash are pleased to announce a joint presentation of works by General Idea.
Formed in 1969 by AA Bronson, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal, General Idea created a pioneering and singular body of work that addressed the intersection of art and commerce, the role of the artist and the museum, body politics and the AIDS crisis.
Anchoring this solo booth will be El Dorado Series, a suite of nine abstract paintings made of tinted hydrostone on extruded Styrofoam. While the title references the mythical city of gold that lured 16th-century Spanish conquistadors into the then-uncharted territories of South America, the nine tones of the colored hydrostone are pointillist interpretations of 18th-century Spanish "caste" paintings in the collection of Museo Nacional de Antropología, Madrid.
Also on view will be S/HE -- a playful multi-panel photo work mimicking the format of fashion spreads to explore the guises of masculine and feminine identities -- as well as a selection of paintings and works on paper featuring the artist group's oft-recurring poodle motif, which General Idea used to probe issues ranging from sexual stereotypes to the commodification of contemporary art.