The latest addition to the site-specific shows staged at Blenheim Palace is a comprehensive survey of Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, hailed as the founding father of Arte Povera.
The show,which opens today to the public, features a variety of work from his five-decade career, including painting, sculpture, large-scale installations, as well as site-specific works, beautifully installed in 18th century interiors and surrounding grounds of the palace, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“I look forward to seeing my art in an entirely new context, extending its meaning and visitor’s experience of it. I hope the show will inspire and delight viewers of all ages,” Pistoletto said in a statement.
Le Trombe del Giudizio / The Trumpets of Judgment (1968‐1986) by Michelangelo Pistoletto. Photo Tom Lindboe, courtesy of Blenheim Art Foundation.
Pistoletto has most recently been exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris and at London’s Serpentine Gallery, but this show is his most comprehensive show in the UK yet. On display are the artist’s most recent works from a series entitled Mirror Paintings, photo-silkscreened images transplanted onto polished steel, which are certainly interactive as the viewer is reflected onto the picture plane.
“Pistoletto’s extensive and powerful career has been a major influence on contemporary art and modern thought. He is a counter-cultural figure who questions society and explores philosophy through a body of work which is witty, poetic and always unexpected,” Michael Frahm, director of the Blenheim Art Foundation, said in a statement.
Pistoletto’s solo show marks the third contemporary art exhibition hosted at the Palace, following shows by Ai Weiwei in 2014, and Lawrence Weiner in 2015.
Venere degli stracci / Venus of the Rags (1967 – 2014) by Michelangelo Pistoletto. Photo Tom Lindboe, courtesy of Blenheim Art Foundation.
Terzo Paradiso / Third Paradise (2003-2016) by Michelangelo Pistoletto. Photo Tom Lindboe, courtesy of Blenheim Art Foundation.
From “Self-Portraits” Il Presente / The Present to Quadri Specchiantii / Mirror Paintings (1961-2016) by Michelangelo Pistoletto. Photo Tom Lindboe, courtesy of Blenheim Art Foundation.
“Michelangelo Pistoletto at Blenheim Palace” is on view from September 15 to December 31, 2016.