Michelangelo Pistoletto Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Michelangelo Pistoletto (Biella, 1933). He received his artistic training at his father's studio and continued at the advertising graphics school directed by Armando Testa. Read the full biography

Michelangelo Pistoletto Biography

Michelangelo Pistoletto (Biella, 1933). He received his artistic training at his father's studio and continued at the advertising graphics school directed by Armando Testa. At the beginning of his work he mainly dealt with portraits. In 1960 he had his first solo exhibition at the Galatea Gallery in Turin. In 1961 he created the Il presente series which offers his image on a black background made reflective by means of a layer of transparent varnish and in 1962 he developed the technique through which he gave life to his Mirror Paintings. Thanks to the latter he achieved success and international recognition. He thus participates in the most important artistic events dedicated to Pop Art and Nouveau Realisme; holds exhibitions in famous galleries and museums in Europe and the United States. The artist is considered the protagonist and animator of the Arte Povera artistic movement. In 1967 he opened his studio and on this occasion the Zoo was born, a group whose members began creative collaborations. He creates a series of works, each developed over the course of a year, which are called "continents of time". He holds a series of exhibitions in the United States. From 1985 to 1989 he created new works characterized by dark and gloomy tones, exemplary of the art of squalor. From 1991 to 1998 he became Professor of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Starting from 1993 he began a phase called Segno Arte and from 1994 Progetto Arte whereby art was placed at the center of a socially responsible transformation. In 2002 he became artistic director of the Biennale Internazionale Arte Giovane Torino and received the Diploma of Meritorious Culture and Art from the Presidency of the Italian Republic. In 2003 he was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale, in 2007 he was awarded the Wolf Foundation Prize in Arts in Jerusalem.