Tony Feher transformed ordinary materials into works of political and poetic resonance that helped reshape the discourse around the role of commerce in contemporary art. His pieces are often made up of ephemeral, commonplace objects: glass jars and plastic bottles, paper and plastic bags, cups and glasses, straws, coins, and playing cards, for example, or equally disposable utilitarian products, such as boxes and crates, Styrofoam, string and rope, labels, and wire hangers. According to the artist, he aimed to find “the ‘trick’ in materials, that indescribable something that allows [him] to exploit an object for [his] own purposes: a reflection of light, a color, a play of density versus transparency, a little something that sets it off ” (Buhmann 2008, 73). The deceptive casualness and simplicity of Feher’s gestures cloak a hard-won precision—the result of using materials straight from his own life. The artist’s identity as a gay and HIV-positive man—and the everyday challenges that presented—provides a powerful and enduring subtext for his work, which strikes an emotional tone that vacillates between tenderness and cruelty, edginess and wit. Consisting of colorful marbles neatly formed into a circle, Untitled (All In) carries overtones of play and risk, and serves as a poignant reminder of life’s inherent unpredictability. cs