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General Idea Biography

General Idea were formed in 1969 by friends AA Bronson, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal; for the next 25 years they lived and worked together to produce the living artwork of their being together, undertaking over 100 solo exhibitions, and countless group shows and temporary public art projects.

They were known for their magazine FILE (1972–1989), their unrelenting production of low-cost multiples, and their early involvement in punk, queer theory, AIDS activism, and other manifestations of the other. In 1974 they founded Art Metropole, Toronto, a distribution center and archive for artists’ books, audio, video, and multiples, which they conceived as the shop and archive for their Gesamtkunstwerk: The 1984 Miss General Idea Pavillion, a kind of meta-museum. From 1987 through 1994, they focused their work on the subject of AIDS. The group was de facto dissolved with the deaths of Pertz and Zontal in 1994 although General Idea’s work continues to be exhibited.

Text courtesy Maureen Paley.

General Idea
featured artworks

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AIDS Sculpture by General Idea contemporary artwork sculpture

General Idea AIDS Sculpture, 1989/2023 Stainless steel
Esther Schipper Request Price & Availability

AIDS (Red) by General Idea contemporary artwork sculpture

General Idea AIDS (Red), 1989/2021 Powder coated stainless steel
Esther Schipper Request Price & Availability

1968 General Idea #6 by General Idea contemporary artwork painting, works on paper, sculpture

General Idea 1968 General Idea #6, 1968 General Idea #6 Fluorescent acrylic, latex on unprimed canvas
152.4 x 152.4 x 10 cm Esther Schipper Request Price & Availability

Study for Fontana by General Idea contemporary artwork painting, works on paper

General Idea Study for Fontana, 1993 Acrylic on cut canvas
30.5 x 23 cm Esther Schipper Request Price & Availability

VB Gown Against The Calgary Skyline by General Idea contemporary artwork photography

General Idea VB Gown Against The Calgary Skyline, 1977 Gelatin silver print
9.8 x 25.3 cm Esther Schipper Request Price & Availability

Light On Mirror by General Idea contemporary artwork sculpture, photography

General Idea Light On Mirror, 1971 Gelatin silver print
20.1 x 25.3 cm Esther Schipper Request Price & Availability

Atomic 2 by General Idea contemporary artwork mixed media

General Idea Atomic 2, 1986 Enamel on canvas with painted wood
91 x 76 cm Maureen Paley

AIDS (Marcus Garvey) by General Idea contemporary artwork painting

General Idea AIDS (Marcus Garvey), 1991 Graphite and gouache on paper
13 x 9.5 inches Maureen Paley

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General Idea
recent exhibitions

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Contemporary art exhibition, Group Exhibition, Chopped & Screwed at White Cube, New York, United States

Closed 8–28 October 2023 Group Exhibition Chopped & Screwed White Cube, New York

Contemporary art exhibition, Group Exhibition, Esther Schipper in Taipei | A SEASONAL POP-UP EXHIBITION at Esther Schipper Taipei

Closed 19 August–10 September 2021 Group Exhibition Esther Schipper in Taipei | A SEASONAL POP-UP EXHIBITION Esther Schipper Taipei

Contemporary art exhibition, Group Exhibition, PS81E at Esther Schipper, Esther Schipper Berlin, Germany

Closed 16 June–26 July 2020 Group Exhibition PS81E Esther Schipper, Esther Schipper Berlin

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Represented by these
Ocula Member Galleries

Esther Schipper contemporary art gallery in Esther Schipper Berlin, Germany

Esther Schipper Berlin, Paris, Seoul

Maureen Paley contemporary art gallery in London, United Kingdom

Maureen Paley Hove, London

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General Idea
in Ocula Magazine

News Cecilia Alemani, Curator of Venice Biennale, to Lead Art Toronto Talks By Sam Gaskin, Toronto, 4 October 2022 The fair will also debut a new exhibition format featuring works by Nan Goldin and Laurie Kang.

Conversation Maureen Paley: A Trailblazing Gallerist By Rory Mitchell, London, 19 June 2020 Maureen Paley reflects on the evolution of her gallery, which she opened in the front room of her Victorian terraced house in 1984 after moving to London from her native East Coast of the United States.

Feature London Frieze Week: 2018 Lowdown By Jareh Das, London, 20 September 2018 Concurrent to Frieze London (4–7 October 2018), a range of unmissable exhibitions are taking place across London in both commercial and non-commercial art spaces. Here's a selection of what to see in the city.

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(1969 – 1994), Canada

General Idea Biography

General Ideafeatured artworks

General Idearecent exhibitions

Represented by theseOcula Member Galleries

General Ideain Ocula Magazine

General Idea
featured artworks

General Idea
recent exhibitions

Represented by these
Ocula Member Galleries

General Idea
in Ocula Magazine