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Michelangelo Pistoletto
1 9 3 3 B i e l l a
Michelangelo Pistoletto was born on June 23,1933,in Biella,in
the Piedmont region of Italy.He worked under his father in Turin
from 1947 to 1958 as a painting restorer.In the 1950s he made
figurative paintings,including many self-portraits.Pistoletto
first participated in the Biennale di San Marino in 1959.His first
solo exhibition was held the next year,at the Galleria Galatea,
Turin.In his self-portraits of 1960-61,he covered his canvases
with grounds of metallic paint,and subsequently replaced the canvas
completely with polished steel.His photosilkscreened images of
people,life-size,on reflective steel were intended both to integrate
the environment and the viewer into his work and to question the
nature of reality and representation.Mirrored surfaces would recur
throughout Pistoletto ’s oeuvre.The Oggetti in meno (Minus
Objects)of 1965-66 are among his earliest sculptural works.
In 1966 his first solo exhibition in the United States was held
at the Walker Art Center,Minneapolis.In 1967 he won a grand prize
at the Bienale of São Paulo and the Belgian Art Critics
’ Award.Also in 1967 Pistoletto began to pursue Performance
art,an interest that would expand over his career to encompass
work in film,video,and theater.With the Zoo group,which he founded,Pistoletto
presented collaborative “actions ”from 1968 until
1970.Meant to unify art and daily existence,these performances
took place in his studio,in public institutions such as schools
and theaters,and on the streets of Turin and other cities.
Pistoletto ’s employment of everyday materials -as in the
Venere degli stracci (Venus of the Rags) of 1967,a copy of a classical
sculpture of Venus set against a huge mound of old clothes and
fabrics -aligned him with Arte Povera.Since 1967,when the term
Arte Povera was coined,Pistoletto ’s work has been included
in gallery and museum exhibitions devoted to that trend. He withdrew
his work from the 1968 Venice Biennale in response to student
demonstrations at the event,which were among the countless protests
that took place across Italy that volatile year.
Pistoletto ’s book L ’uomo nero,il lato insopportabile
was published in 1970 by Rumma Editore,Salerno. In 1974 he passed
a ski instructor ’s exam and was spending much of his time
in the
mountain town of San Sicario.In the late 1970s and early 1980s
he made sculpture that drew from art-historical precedents,working,from
the early 1980s,in polyurethane and marble. In 1979 –80
he presented performance works in Atlanta and Athens,Georgia,as
well as in San Francisco.Among his theater works are Opera Ah,presented
in 1979 in the piazza of Corniglia,and
Anno uno (Year One),performed in 1981 at Rome ’s Teatro
Quirino.
Retrospectives of Pistoletto’s art have been presented at
Palazzo Grassi,Venice (1976),Palacio de Cristal,Madrid (1983),
Forte di Belvedere,Florence (1984),Galleria Nazionale d ’Arte
Moderna, Rome (1990),and Museu d ’Art Contemporani de Barcelona
(2000).
His work has been included in major international exhibitions
including the Venice Biennale (1966,1976,1978,1984,1986,and 1993)and
Documenta in Kassel (1968,1982,1992,and 1997).Pistoletto announced
the creation of Progetto Arte in 1994,a program intended to unite
the diverse strands of human civilization through art.To further
this goal,he established Cittadellarte,Fondazione Pistoletto -a
center for the study and promotion of creative activity -in Biella
in 1998.
Il Poggione, Brunello di Montalcino
1998, 14%
The Brunello di Montalcino “Il
Poggione” 1998, is the result of a special selection of
Sangiovese Grosso variety, the only one permitted for this appellation,
coming from the best crues of the Poggione estate.
After three years of ageing in big Allier casks, the wine begins
to mature and evolve, but it needs another minimum of twelve months
of bottle ageing before being released in the market.
It’s a red ruby wine with some garnet hues. With a very
intense, persistent and refined bouquet, the wine releases aromas
of small black forest fruit and some floral hints together with
leather and tobacco. It’s a dry full bodied red wine with
a tannic yet round character. This Brunello is a great classy
wine with a very lingering and seductive finish. It will improve
with time.
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