ART CITIES:Paris-Michelangelo Pistoletto
Michelangelo Pistoletto believes that artists have as mission to change the world. Since the ‘60s Michelangelo Pistoletto’s work has followed two paths, a body of Conceptual sculpture grounded in the tenets of Arte Povera and an ongoing iconic series of Mirror Paintings. Representing his dual interest in Conceptualism and figurative representation, together these bodies of work have earned Michelangelo Pistoletto enduring international recognition.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: VNH Gallery Archive
Michelangelo Pistoletto’s solo exhibition “RESPECT” at the VNH Gallery in Paris is the second collaboration between the Gallery and the Galleria Continua. Both venues share a common desire to show a selection of artists from different generations and backgrounds working across various modes of expression. The exhibition is organized in 3 sections: “Art”, “Education” and “Politics”, the fundamentals that drive the artist’s approach in his quest for the “Third Paradise” and presents a selection of Pistoletto’s works as well as work created specifically for this occasion. The exhibition starts on the façade of the Gallery with Pistoletto’s “Third Paradise” symbol. In 2003 Pistoletto wrote “The Third Paradise” manifesto and drew its symbol. The basic idea of the the symbol is the overcoming of the current worldwide existing conflict between the two polarities of nature and artifice. The symbol has three circles: the two opposite circles signify nature and artifice, the middle one is the conjunction of the two and represents the generative womb of a new humanity. “Uomo sul sofa” (1958), is painted full-figure and life-size, the relationship between the subject and the surrounding space compelled the artist to come to grips with the making of the background. Other works on presentation are: “Il presente – Autoritratto in camicia” (1961), “Autoritratto su fondo argento” (1960), that illustrate the artist’s seminal experiments of the early ‘60s, performed with the desire to “See something happen”, and “The Conferenza” (1975) that offers a timeless statement on the political systems that impede and deprive individuals of the space necessary for their flourishing. The mirror has gradually appearing in “Buco Nero” (2010), “Black & White” (2012), “Louvre (Ragazza)” (2013), and “Color and light” (2016). In the Gallery were set up 23 mirrors that were activated by the artist with a sledgehammer on 20/10, during the opening of the 2016 FIAC’s Gallery Night and revealed the word “RESPECT” in the world’s most spoken languages. Embodying the artist’s thoughts on the human condition, these broken mirrors also recall the political investigations that Pistoletto carries out in the Cittadellarte that is situated in a former mill in Biella acquired by the artist in 1991 and was officially inaugurated in the summer of 1998. Since that time Cittadellarte has constantly developed its structure and its programs. Its objective, in brief, is “To inspire and produce a responsible change in society by means of creative ideas and projects”.
Info: VNH Gallery, 108 Rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, Duration: 20/10-23/12/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 10:00-19:00, www.vnhgallery.com
