THE ESTATE OF GENERAL IDEA Life & Work | Page 15

General Idea
Life & Work by Sarah E.K. Smith

Final Months
Zontal’s illness manifested in summer 1993, leading to a rapid deterioration that
eventually left him blind and bedridden; in Partz the disease progressed more slowly.69
Bronson and Zontal left New York City and returned to Toronto. The trio again lived
together under one roof, moving into a penthouse apartment in The Colonnade at
131 Bloor Street West.
The Colonnade space was enormous, accommodating their studio practice—
which continued unabated—as well as medical equipment. Together with a group of
close friends, Bronson took on the role of caretaker for Partz and Zontal, who both
decided they would endure AIDS, which at the time was a terminal illness, at home.

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In

their last months together, the three worked on smaller projects. These included
paintings, such as the Infe©ted Mondrian series, 1994, which appropriates and subverts
the sparse linear aesthetic of the signature abstract works by Dutch painter Piet

General Idea, Infe©ted Mondrian #9, 1994, acrylic
on gatorboard, 51 x 51 cm, McCarthy Tétrault
LLP, Toronto

Mondrian (1872–1944). In the early 1990s General Idea received several significant
honours, including the City of Toronto’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.
The group lived full lives despite the toll of AIDS. On January 29, 1994, General
Idea honoured Zontal during his last days by celebrating his fiftieth birthday with a party
at the General Idea penthouse. More than one hundred guests came to the event, some
flying in from as far away as Los Angeles, New York City, Zurich, London, and
Amsterdam. At the party Zontal made a spirited final appearance dressed at his request
as a Spanish nobleman, a reference to the El Greco (c. 1541–1614) painting The
Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest, 1580.

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For the last two months of his life, Zontal
was confined to his bed.

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He died of AIDS-

related causes on February 3, 1994. Partz
passed away four months and two days later, on
June 5, 1994. Later that year General Idea was
recognized with the Jean A. Chalmers Award for
Visual Arts in Toronto. Bronson showed up to
accept the honour in Partz’s wheelchair, wearing
the white shirt with ruff donned by Zontal on his
fiftieth birthday.
Reflecting in 2012, Bronson explained
that he initially did not know how to be an artist
outside of the group.

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Some of his early solo

works were tributes to General Idea. The best
known of these is the portrait of Partz, Felix,
June 5, 1994, 1994, a billboard-scale digital
print of lacquer on vinyl. This image features

LEFT: Photograph of Jorge Zontal, dressed as a Spanish nobleman, at his fiftieth birthday party on
January 29, 1994, photograph by Barr Gilmore. This image was featured on the invitation card for Zontal’s
memorial service, designed by Barbara Bloom, 1994 RIGHT: El Greco, The Nobleman with his Hand on his
Chest, c. 1580, oil on canvas, 81.8 x 66.1 cm, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Partz at home in his bed in the hours following
his death.
Felix shows Partz as he was in the last three weeks of his life. It is at once striking
and unsettling. Surrounded by his favourite objects—including a tape recorder, a remote
control, and a package of cigarettes—Partz is dressed in a vividly patterned black and

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