CORRIDOR THE LITTLE MERODE

Born in 1933, Biella, Italy. Lives and works in Turin. 

From 1947 to 1958, he worked with his father, a painting restorer, while attending an advertising graphics school.

In the early 1960s, he began to produce figurative paintings and self-portraits against a monochrome metallic background. He later combined painting and photography, using collage techniques on reflective backgrounds. He finally turned to photo-realistic printing of scenes on polished steel plates to achieve a high finish using silkscreen, which almost completely blends in with the observer.

In 1967, his work won 1st prize at the Sao Paulo Biennial. That same year, he began to focus on performance, video art and theatre. He founded an action art group, "Groupe de Zoo", giving several shows between 1968 and 1970, the aim being to display the unity of art and everyday life.

At the end of the 1960s, he began making mouldings from rags, breaking new ground in the "classical statuary art" that was ubiquitous in Italy. The art of using "poor materials" is one aspect of the definition of Arte Povera.

Pistoletto was soon listed in catalogues by gallery owners and critics as an important representative of the new trend of Italian Arte Povera.

In 1974, he withdrew almost completely from the artistic scene, before returning to sculpture and the creation of theatrical sets.