Artist
Born in Biella, Northern Italy, in 1933, Michelangelo Pistoletto is an artist, painter, sculptor and leading figure in the Arte Povera movement that emerged in Italy in the 1960s.
Through his research on self-portraiture in the 1950s, he started creating Mirror Paintings, works that directly incorporate the viewer’s presence and the real dimension of time into the artwork, which brought him international recognition. Between 1965 and 1966, he produced a group of works titled “The Minus Objects,” considered fundamental to the birth of Arte Povera. His “Venus of the Rags” sculpture in 1967 remains one of the movement’s most iconic artworks.
A pioneer of ‘creative collaboration’ as far back as 1968, Mr. Pistoletto further expanded this approach in the 1990s through Progetto Arte and the founding of Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto in Biella, including its University of Ideas program. These initiatives actively connect art with the various spheres of society to inspire and promote responsible social transformation.
In 2003, he launched the most recent phase of his artistic exploration – The Third Paradise – which, over the following decades, has become a vast collective and participatory work.
Mr. Pistoletto has authored several books. His most recent, “The Formula of Creation,” was published in 2022, tracing the key steps and evolution of his artistic journey and theoretical thinking.
He has participated in the Venice Biennale 13 times and Documenta in Kassel four times. He has also served as a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
His works are held in the collections of the world’s leading modern and contemporary art museums.
In 2025, he was nominated by the Gorbachev Foundation for the Nobel Peace Prize.
