Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Always to Return

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the Archives of American Art present Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Always to Return, an exhibition focused on the artist’s deep engagement with portraiture and the construction of identity, as well as how history is told and inherited. As one of the leading artists—and portraitists—of the twentieth century, Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996) expanded the horizon of what a portrait could be, from a genre often seen as a static representation of individuals to one with the capacity to change, remain resonant, and encourage collaboration. With no formal beginning or end point, the exhibition will unfold at the intersection of Gonzalez-Torres’s groundbreaking work, the context of two Smithsonian collections, and the historically significant setting of Washington, D.C.