ART CITIES:Habana-Michelangelo Pistoletto
Michelangelo Pistoletto is one of Arte Povera’s most significant protagonists. Since the ‘60’s his work has followed two linked paths, a body of Conceptual sculpture grounded in the tenents of Arte Povera and an ongoing iconic series of Mirror Paintings, comprising figurative, graphic or sculptural images applied to the surface of polished stainless steel. Alongside this practice Pistoletto is the founder of the cittadellarte in Biella, Italy, a cross-disciplinary foundation for research and the development of ideas.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Galleria Continua Archive
The first solo exhibition of Michelangelo Pistoletto at The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Habana starts with a new Walking Sculpture performance similar to the well-known “Sfera di giornali” (1967). The sculpture will come “after a walk” along the Havana streets. In bringing out of the institutional confines the work of art, “the sphere represents the freedom of movement and the individual participation of each one. […] If a sphere is thrown down a given street to freely roll among people, they will react and they will begin to play with it, trying to push it toward an objective, taking advantage of the opportunity”. In this case the ball is also a “metaphor about the life encounters and of interactions.” The selection of works included in the exhibition offers a wide panoramic view that presents both some more emblematic historical works such as: “Autoritratto Argento” (1960), sculptures of the series “Oggetti in Meno” (1965-66), the historical “Venere degli stracci” (1967-74), Pistoletto’s use of a sculpture of Venus as an iconic motif of the canon of Western art, invokes Italy’s cultural past in an ironic way. By combining the classically-inspired statue with piled-up rags the artist announces a series of oppositions: hard-soft, formed-unformed, monochrome-coloured, fixed-movable, precious-disregarded, historical-contemporary, unique-common and the cultural/the everyday. In their ‘poorness’ the rags demonstrate a willingness to deploy any and all aspects of life in art. Recent works of the exhibition include: “Mirror Cage – Double Square” (1975-2007) “Two Less One” (2009), “Two Less One Black” (2011). Another fundamental work of the exhibition is “Thirteen Less One” (2015), 13 mirrors, objects of the performance by Pistoletto presented during the XII Biennale of Havana, which belong to the Permanent Collection of the Museum. A new series of “Mirror Paintings” has been specifically created for the exhibition. The idea of producing a new series of Mirror Paintings materialized in 2015, during the stay of Michelangelo Pistoletto in Cuba, on the occasion of his participation in the XII Biennale of Havana. The 18 new works depict the daily life in Cuba, showing, on top of reflection backgrounds, people photographed on the streets or in common spaces, busy with simple daily activities, without posing for the lenses or with forced gestures. In the exhibition an area is reserved for reflecting on the relationship among Art, Spirituality and Politics, which started the manifesto “L’Arte assume la Relligione” (1978) and developed until present in “Ominiteismo e Demopraxia” (2012-16), here is represented by installation “Il Tempo del Giudizio” (2008), designed as a temple that recaptures the polytheistic concept, gathering in a common space Judaism, Catholicism, Islamism, and Buddhism.
Info: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Arte Universal, San Rafael, entrance Agramonte (Zulueta) y Avenida de Bélgica (Monserrate), Habana, Duration: 25/11/16-3/4/17, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 9:00-17:00, Sun 10:00-14:00, www.bellasartes.cult.cu
