"Untitled" (Bloodwork—Steady Decline)

This spare, horizontal drawing presents a series of precisely plotted lines and dots, resembling a medical graph. Titled "Bloodwork—Steady Decline," the work immediately suggests a somber narrative, hinting at the tracking of a patient's health over time. The subtle shifts in the graphite and gouache on paper, though abstract, evoke the meticulous recording of data, perhaps blood counts or other vital signs. Created in 1993, this piece belongs to a series of "graph" works by Félix González-Torres, which are the only works by him that include hand-drawn elements. While such graphs have often been interpreted as representations of personal medical charts, the artist intended them to remain non-specific, allowing for broader interpretations of graphed data and the universal experience of monitoring change, decline, or hope.