Michelangelo Pistoletto
04 Mar - 15 Aug 2011
MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO
Da Uno a Molti, 1956-1974
in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art
curated by Carlos Basualdo
March 4th - August 15th, 2011
Michelangelo Pistoletto: Da Uno a Molti, 1956 – 1974, featuring more than 100 works from Italian and American public and private collections, presents one of the most important living Italian artists, internationally recognised as a key figure in contemporary art, one of the founding members of the Arte Povera movement and a guiding light for the younger generations. In the United States he is seen as a forerunner of participatory artistic practices.
The exhibition examines the evolution of Pistoletto’s research, from a rigorous analysis of the representation of the self through to the development of the collaborative initiatives that also characterise his current work.
The works are arranged in three principal groups. The Mirror Paintings and the Plexiglass works are exhibited together, respecting the conceptual grouping originally devised by the artist. Here Pistoletto portrays friends, relations and acquaintances as well as the groups of people in the Rallies and Protests series in which he investigates socio-political themes. The Minus Objects and the Rags and the works from the series Lights and Reflections are presented together in a single room.
A separate space has been reserved for the Actions and Performances of the theatrical group Lo Zoo and features props associated with the performances, videos and photographic documentation.
All these works help describe Pistoletto’s work within the context of the post-war transformations that affected Italy, Western Europe and North America, exploring the relationships between his work and Pop Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art, placing particular emphasis on the collaborative aspect of his work that characterised his research from the mid-1950s.
The exhibition Michelangelo Pistoletto: from One to Many, 1956-1974, is flanked by a second exposition Cittadellarte: that instead focuses on the creative laboratory of same name founded by Pistoletto in Biella in 1998, which fosters art’s capacity for networking and direct social interaction.
Da Uno a Molti, 1956-1974
in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art
curated by Carlos Basualdo
March 4th - August 15th, 2011
Michelangelo Pistoletto: Da Uno a Molti, 1956 – 1974, featuring more than 100 works from Italian and American public and private collections, presents one of the most important living Italian artists, internationally recognised as a key figure in contemporary art, one of the founding members of the Arte Povera movement and a guiding light for the younger generations. In the United States he is seen as a forerunner of participatory artistic practices.
The exhibition examines the evolution of Pistoletto’s research, from a rigorous analysis of the representation of the self through to the development of the collaborative initiatives that also characterise his current work.
The works are arranged in three principal groups. The Mirror Paintings and the Plexiglass works are exhibited together, respecting the conceptual grouping originally devised by the artist. Here Pistoletto portrays friends, relations and acquaintances as well as the groups of people in the Rallies and Protests series in which he investigates socio-political themes. The Minus Objects and the Rags and the works from the series Lights and Reflections are presented together in a single room.
A separate space has been reserved for the Actions and Performances of the theatrical group Lo Zoo and features props associated with the performances, videos and photographic documentation.
All these works help describe Pistoletto’s work within the context of the post-war transformations that affected Italy, Western Europe and North America, exploring the relationships between his work and Pop Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art, placing particular emphasis on the collaborative aspect of his work that characterised his research from the mid-1950s.
The exhibition Michelangelo Pistoletto: from One to Many, 1956-1974, is flanked by a second exposition Cittadellarte: that instead focuses on the creative laboratory of same name founded by Pistoletto in Biella in 1998, which fosters art’s capacity for networking and direct social interaction.