(born in Biella in 1933)
Ragazza acrobata, 1981, signed, dated and titled on the reverse, silkscreen on polished stainless steel, 125 x 70 cm, unique piece

This work is accompanied by a photo certificate signed by the artist

Provenance:
Galleria Cafiso, Milan
European Private Collection (acquired from the above in 1998)

Michelangelo Pistoletto (born in Biella in 1933) is one of the leading exponents of Arte Povera and Pop Art. The obsession to find himself and his own identity has driven him from a young age; it is no coincidence that his artistic investigation started with the self-portrait and then developed into the theme of the reflected image.
From 1962 on he has mainly used stainless aluminium foil on canvas, on which he applies tissue paper photographic silhouettes so that everyone can feel part of the work.
The mirror is a metaphor for the 'great theatre of the world' in which everyone is part of the set in a continuously unfolding performance.
If one of the aims of Arte Povera is to involve the public, the mirrored surface of Pistoletto’s work is the location of choice where this is best represented.
In the work “Ragazza acrobata” (Acrobat Girl) of 1981, he lays bare the precariousness of today, representing something fleeting and momentary. This same subject has captured many artists in the past, such as Picasso, who assiduously frequented the Medrano Circus and was fascinated by circus characters as a symbol of the contradictory nature of existence poised between magic and desolation; the perfect condition of human reality.