Michelangelo Pistoletto (1933, Biella, Italy) began to exhibit his work in 1955. In the period 1961-1962 he made the first Mirror Paintings, which directly include the viewer and real time in the work. The Mirror Paintings are the foundation of his subsequent artistic output and theoretical thought. During the nineties he brought art into active relation with diverse spheres of society with the aim of inspiring and producing responsible social change.

His work has been presented in solo exhibitions at Musée du Louvre (Paris, 2013); Universalmuseum Joanneum (Graz, 2012); MAXXI (Roma, 2011); Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia); MARCA (Catanzaro, 2010); NCCA, Mosca; MAMAC, (Nice, 2007); Galleria Civica, (Modena, 2005); MuHKA, (Antwerp, 2003); Ludwig Museum (Budapest); Contemporary Museum of Bosnia (Sarajevo); Musée d’Art Contemporain (Lyon, 2001); GAM (Turin); MACBA (Barcelona, 2000). He has participated twelve times in the Venice Biennale (1966, 1968, 1976, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011) and four times in dOCUMENTA, Kassel (1968, 1982, 1992 and 1997).