Michelangelo Pistoletto: Mirror Paintings

Michelangelo Pistoletto (born 1933) is one of Arte Povera's most significant protagonists. It is with the Mirror Paintings that Pistoletto's name is mostly closely identified, an ongoing series begun in 1962 that has earned him rapid and enduring international recognition. These works are made from sheets of mirror-finished stainless steel, fitted with a full-length portrait photograph that has been meticulously traced and painted onto its surface (after 1971 the image was silkscreened on). The inclusion in the work of the viewer, his or her surroundings and his or her interaction with the photographed person in the mirror is the key to the boggling reflexivity that drives this work. This book evaluates the Mirror Paintings of the past four years. It includes an interview with the artist and a fully illustrated chronology of Mirror Paintings from 1962 to the present.