In 2023, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the birth of the impoverished artist Pistoletto, Galleria Continua will launch a new year-long cross-global art project that will cover the Galleria Continua's eight spaces around the world. The project aims to provide a detailed picture of the artist's many attempts in the field of art from the beginning to the present, and the exhibition takes us on a journey through different eras, looking back at the artist's creative process, telling the highlights of the master's artistic career, and the deep friendship he has established with the gallery over a long period of time. In 2023, Galleria Continua will present solo exhibitions in eight spaces around the world, including San Gimignano (27 May), Cuba (27 May), Murline (3 June), Rome (22 June), Paris (23 June), Beijing (15 November), Dubai (18 November) and São Paulo (29 November).
Michelangelo Pistoletto.
michelangelo pistoletto
*Copyright: Artist and Evergreen Gallery.
Michelangelo Pistoletto, born in 1933 in Biella, Italy, was a pioneer of the Paupan Art Movement and is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of his time. For more than half a century, Pistoletto has sought to merge art and life through sculptural installations, experimental performances, and his most famous and iconic "mirror paintings", which are the basis of his artistic practice. The creation of "Mirror Painting" began in 1962 and represents the artist's dual interest in conceptualism and figuration. Through the mirrors and the reflective properties of the materials, the viewer becomes an integral part of the work, and each mirror painting bridges the metaphysical space between the past and the present, the virtual and the real.
Installation view of I Quadri Specchianti, 2023, San Gimignano Space, Galleria Continua, Photo: Ela Bialkowska Okno Studio, The Artist and Galleria Continua.
Pistoletto takes his own artistic discoveries and practices as a starting point and radiates to all fields of society. As an artist, he is sensitive, creative, and socially responsible. This is also fully reflected in his deduction and argumentation of the proposed "Third Heaven".
In 2003 Pistoletto wrote the manifesto of "Il Terzo Paradiso" (Third Heaven) and painted its iconic symbol on the sand, a reconfiguration of the mathematical symbol of "infinity" ( ). Pistoletto believed that the two circles in symbolize the two opposing poles, natural and artificial, which he defined as the first and second heavens, respectively. These two heavens represent two conflicting extremes in the evolution of human beings. Pistoletto inserted a central circle between these two poles, hoping to create a new paradise, one that could encompass both natural and artificial poles. This paradise rejects the destructive conflict between nature and manificiality in the evolution of human beings in today's society.
Pistoletto's hand-drawn "Third Heaven" symbol.
Image source network. While this is an idealized representation, the new possibilities conceived by the Third Heaven may be able to help or avert humanity towards a world of devastation brought about by technology. In 2003, when Pistoletto proposed the latest creative stage, the "Third Paradise", the Internet era was just dawning, and artificial intelligence and information technology were in the ascendant, Pistoletto seemed to have seen the imminent conflict between nature and artificiality. This kind of "prophetic" precision grasp of the development of things is not unrelated to Pistoletto's insight into the "essence". In our interviews with Pistoletto, he mentions the "essence" more than once, whether it is the art of poverty or the observation of this society, Pistoletto is looking for and touching on the root and essence of the problem, which also makes his work highly philosophical, even religious.
Installation view of Segno Arte, 2023, Galleria Continua Paris, Photo: Ela Bialkowska Okno Studio Artist and Galleria Continua.
On November 16, 2023, Galleria Continua Beijing held its third solo exhibition at Pistoletto, this time titled "QR Code Possession", which uses the artist's eponymous "mirror painting" "*Said" - Self-Portrait as a wedge, and his monograph "The Formula of Creation" released in December 2022 as a model, inviting the audience to explore the master's painstaking and solitary path of artistic research. In addition, the artist also exhibits more than 10 works from different periods in other spaces of the gallery, from the first exploration of photography in 1975 to the latest mirror installation made this year, to help the audience better understand the content described in ***, and guide the audience to experience the master's profound artistic philosophy.
Installation view of QR Code Possession, 2023, Galleria Continua, Beijing, Photo: Lin Dong Artist and Galleria Continua.
On the occasion of this exhibition, 99 Art conducted an exclusive interview with Michelangelo Pistoletto, from "mirror painting" to "poor art" to "Third Heaven", listening to this art giant talk about his creations and thoughts.
Michelangelo Pistoletto.
michelangelo pistoletto
*Copyright: Artist and Evergreen Gallery.
q&a
q = 99 Art.com.
a = Michelangelo Pistoletto.
q
When did you start focusing on mirrors as a medium for your work? How do you connect the characteristics of mirrors with creative ideas and themes?
a：The creation of "mirror painting" originated in the 50s of the 20th century. I exist in this world, I am a part of this world, so in the study of my own identity, in order to know "who I am", I search for my own personal identity through "mirror painting".
In the beginning, I created self-portraits to present my image to myself. Through a series of experiments, the canvas was slowly transformed into a mirror.
Installation view of QR Code Possession, 2023, Galleria Continua, Beijing, Photo: Lin Dong Artist and Galleria Continua.
The mirror can reflect everything that exists without exception, so the mirror can represent everything that exists. Space, time, the existence of each person, and everything in the universe are directly reflected in my "mirror paintings". Everything in the world is constantly changing, nothing is fixed and absolute, but I freeze the moment in the mirror that should have passed through a **, that is, our memory of a certain moment will persist in all future moments.
"Mirror painting" was born as a phenomenological work, that is, it was no longer entirely created by me, but a phenomenon that I discovered. I can't interpret a "mirror painting" through my own cognition, because as an individual, I am ignorant, but a "mirror painting" can give me a cognition of all existence.
Installation view of I Quadri Specchianti, 2023, San Gimignano Space, Galleria Continua, Photo: Ela Bialkowska Okno Studio, The Artist and Galleria Continua.
q
Why do you try to preserve memories of the past or a moment that should have faded with time?
a：I just froze a moment with **, and that's what's happening at the moment. I fixed it down, like a still from a movie.
In this still picture, memories will come into play in every moment of the future. If we don't have a memory, then we don't know who we are, we don't know what we are, and we don't know what we want to be. It is precisely because we understand the history of mankind that we know why mankind is here today, and why it is the way it is. This is what the mirror is a reflection on me.
We create art that encompasses everything from politics to economics, from religion to education to society. All of these elements can be constantly functioned and fermented through art, nothing is fixed and all elements are in constant evolution.
Installation view of QR Code Possession, 2023, Galleria Continua, Beijing, Photo: Lin Dong Artist and Galleria Continua.
q
Is the relationship between the body and space, inside and outside, history and memory a constant question in your work? In a way, can mirrors be seen as conduits connecting different spaces?
a：The "mirror painting" we see is virtual, and everything physical and tangible is reflected in the mirror. In fact, into the "mirror painting",It's everything that surrounds it, everything that is behind us.
All tangible realities are constantly transformed into virtual reality, so today human beings are developing science and technology with virtual thinking. As human beings, we are all in the middle of the materiality and the virtuality, that is, we are at the center of the "mirror painting". Our brains are the same, both physical and virtual. Artificial intelligence is a mirror image of humanity itself, which is realized through technological means.
"Mirror painting" is a passage between the physical and virtual worlds. We see through our eyes everything that exists externally, but what is "reproduced" by the constant combination of physical and virtual existence in the brain. Animals only have physical parts and no virtual parts, and we have developed virtual parts so that the human brain can be connected to all cosmic matter.
Installation view of QR Code Possession, 2023, Galleria Continua, Beijing, Photo: Lin Dong Artist and Galleria Continua.
q
Your most important collection is "Third Heaven", a concept that marked the latest stage of your creative career, when the concept was first introduced?
a：The concept of "Third Heaven" was born out of the need for self-knowledge in the course of human history.
The first heaven is before the development of our mindsA natural paradise。When we are fully immersed in nature, that is, when humans are still living by hunting and gathering the products of nature, there is a first paradise. Until a certain point, the idea of a cultural dimension emerged, which was determined by the handprints of humans imprinted on the surface of the cave walls.
The "Hand Cave" near the Pinturas River in the northwest of the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina
According to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the earliest murals in these caves were created 13,000 years ago and the latest 9,500 years ago.
Handprints are a recurring image in cave art. Handprints appeared earlier than imitation styling and have always existed. The appearance of the mudra may be a manifestation of man's power of control over the claws left on the mud by man.
Image source network. Installation view of Third Heaven (Terzo Paradiso), 2023, Instituto de la Culture and Arts of São Paulo, in collaboration with Galleria Continua Artists and Galleria Continua.
The first work of art by humans was a handprint left on the wall of a cave. This hand is a virtual hand, it is not a physical hand that a person actually has. When a man finds himself with two hands: one real, which is his own; The other is not real, but it also exists and is one's own, but this hand is not depicted or created, but a hand that can only represent all things in the universe, a hand that can transform anything physical into a virtual one. So, between the virtual hand and the real hand, the door to the unknown was opened. Anything is possible. Therefore, a hand with the ability to transform virtually surpasses a hand in a biological sense.
Michelangelo Pistoletto's Terzo Paradiso installation and performance, 2013 Artist and Galleria Continua.
Nature has incredible powers, and through scientific exploration, the unknown is becoming more and more real and real. From the very beginning, religion has tried to understand what can exist in this infinite space, which exists in the incredible power of nature, and thus, the door to the unknown is opened.
The word "paradise" (paradiso) comes from the Old Persian word "piridaeza", which means "protected garden". "Protected gardens" refer to the construction of stone walls in desert areas to prevent dry desert winds and sand from entering the interior of the oasis. As a result, the humidity at night allows natural organisms to take root in places that would otherwise not be able to grow. It made the impossible possible, and it was the birth of a "second heaven" created by mankind.
When humans survived by hunting and harvesting grain, this Garden of Eden was what I defined as "First Paradise," where humans lived only by direct access to natural products; The "second heaven" is the artificial paradise we have created. It has been evolving, continuing into the time in which we live, and in modernity, we have reaped extraordinary benefits from man-made paradise.
Installation view of Amar Las Diferencias, 2023, Galleria Continua, Havana Space Artists and Galleria Continua.
60 Years of Identity and Change (60 ans d'identités et d'Altérités) exhibition view, 2023, Galleria Continua, Murin Space, Artist and Galleria Continua.
But at the same time, we are destroying the paradise we have created. Nowadays, it is difficult for the artificial world to survive and save nature, so we need a "third heaven".The "Third Heaven" is created by both nature (the first heaven) and man-made (the second heaven).
The "Third Heaven" is the third stage of human developmentAt this stage, we are able to live together in a balanced and harmonious way. In addition to the three-dimensional dynamic symbol of "Third Heaven", I made another symbol, which was placed in front of the Milan** train station"The Apple of Restoration".。The apple itself represents the "first paradise", because the artificial world did not exist when the creature apple appeared; The bitten apple is a very important symbol, it represents the pure artificiality, gives birth to the artificial world, and is the "second heaven". And the "apple" has a wound that has been stitched up, which represents the re-stitching of the artificial and the natural, and is a symbol of symbols.
The "restored apple" placed in front of Milan** train station
Image source network, invasion and deletion.
The moment of biting an apple represents the moment when this natural integrity is destroyed by artificial intelligence. In my opinion, the bitten apple has become a symbol of objects, a symbol of technology, and a symbol of computers.
I sew the bitten apple back onto the natural apple, implying that a new apple can only be combined after artificial and natural repair, but it is no longer the apple of the past.
The "restored apple" placed in front of Milan** train station
Source: artribune
q
What do you think about the idea of the "Third Heaven" and the mirrored yin and yang, as well as opposition and reincarnation, which seem to be related to Eastern philosophy?
a：In the Taiji diagram, which represents yin and yang, there is white in black and black in white, and these two elements refer to each other. Yin and Yang represent two extremes, emphasizing the universal existence of two opposing attributes of things. But these two poles are not completely separated, they exist in a single whole. When these two poles intersect, meet, and symbiosis occur, new spaces will appear between them, and new relationships will arise.
When the intersection representing infinity in the middle of the symbol " " is opened, a third circle is created between the original two circles. This nascent circle exists in the middle of the two circles that represent opposites, where the opposing elements slowly unite. There, a third element, which had not existed before, was gradually generated. The result is creation, which takes place in the third circle, which connects two different extremes. In the book The Formula of Creation, I call it "Third Heaven". Yin and Yang Tai Chi have similarities with the "Third Heaven".
I don't think 0 exists, it's not a number in itself, it's through the bisection of 0 that numbers are born, 1 and 1 are separated from 0, 1 alone doesn't exist in itself, 1 and 1 are never static, they are always moving, always meeting. There is dualism in everything, and the dichotomy of 0 does not produce 1, but becomes 1 and 1. 1 and 1 together generate 2, and a moving 2 generates 3, the third element. That is, if there is no combination of 1 and 1, this third element does not exist. So that's creation.
Michelangelo Pistoletto, Terzo Paradiso, 2019, polystyrene, fabric, 125 250 20 cm Artist and Galleria Continua, Photo: Andrea Rossetti
There is a concept of continuous connection between differences in this formula. The ternary formula always puts two different elements in two opposite circles, the middle circle should have been empty, but it is never empty because it always combines all the elements inside the two relative circles. Therefore, this formula may seem like a holistic formula, because it encompasses everything in the universe and does not exclude anything. But how does it do it? It is by constantly connecting opposing or disparate elements and creating a third element that did not exist before. This third element will continue to combine with the third elements produced by other combinations to create more complex combinations. So this idea about the whole can also be seen as an absolute formula because it includes everything. But "absolutely" does not exist. Because it is this formula that shows that there are always different elements that will be combined with each other, that isThere is an ongoing relationship between the elements, and this relationship leads to an endless, universal combination of expansions that enable all things to be born, grow, multiply, **, and expand. So it's a complexity of differences combined with each other. Therefore, due to the ever-changing combinations of collocations, due to the relationship of elements that are always active, we can say that this formula is absolute. But there is no single element that is fixed, stable, and all-encompassing.
Installation view of Judgement Time, 2023, Galleria Continua Dubai Artist and Galleria Continua.
q
What angles would you advise your audience to experience your work? What do you most want them to feel?
a：The viewer finds himself in front of an exhibition that may have once been traditional abstract art. There are 20 paintings here, each of which is abstract. But I think these paintings are abstract paintings, but at the same time they are not abstract paintings, because they have a strong underlying meaning. Through the technology we have developed, it is possible to read what this abstract painting conveys to us.
The 20 ** report on a series of meetings I have held in Italy with important people from different sectors of society, from religion to politics, from science to education to economics, covering all aspects of society, which are included in my book The Formula of Creation. My book and its contents are constantly quoted and introduced to prominent people in all fields of society, so that everyone can have a broader and deeper understanding of the book. For me, this is a fundamental book about social change.
Installation view of Color and Light, 2023, Galleria Continua Rome, Photo: Ela Bialkowska Okno Studio Artist and Galleria Continua.
q
As one of the leading artists of the Art of Poverty, what inspired you to join the Art of Poverty movement?
a：For me, the important thing is to use art to discover and understand, which is the art of poverty. It is not a sense of deprivation that arises because we have no money to live, it is not "poverty" in essence, but "poverty" in the radical sense. I'm interested in how to understand society in a very primitive, very essential way, rather than continuing to waste your life in this constant race to buy goods.
I want to understand what the essence is. When an idea comes to my mind, I have to know that the idea is possible, that it can be translated into reality, and then I will turn it from possible to reality, even if the idea is insignificant, but it is important. That's when I realizedEverything we do stems from a possibility. And when that possibility materializes, it becomes a reality.
Installation view of QR Code Possession, 2023, Galleria Continua, Beijing, Photo: Dong Jiexu Artist and Galleria Continua.
However,This possibility has been exhausted today. There is constant change in the process of creating things, which means that something new will always emerge. These things are fundamentally very important because it was born out of a possibility. I think "possibility" is crucial because it represents the essence of thingsWhen we have reached the limit of consumerism, the only possibility is to turn to the essence, and thus, consumerism turns to the art of poverty.
Someone asked me what the meaning of "art of poverty" is? I think the "art of poverty" is radical, like burying a seed in the soil on the earth, the seed breaks through the soil, and the tree grows out of the soil. Therefore,The "art of poverty" is the development and self-production of an absolute natural ability, which is the essence, a radical essence.
Installation view of QR Code Possession, 2023, Galleria Continua, Beijing, Photo: Lin Dong Artist and Galleria Continua.
I didn't invent the term "art of poverty". Its emergence stems from activities such as body-based cultural activities. They are talking about the action of poverty, the action done with the human body, so that the muscles correspond to the brain, without the color of traditional aesthetics, so they call it the theater of poverty, the dance of poverty. So in that period, Germano Celant used the word "poverty,"It shows that seemingly simple acts of art-making or art-making can touch on the essence of all human experience to some extent.
Installation view of QR Code Possession, 2023, Galleria Continua, Beijing, Photo: Dong Jiexu Artist and Galleria Continua.