Michelangelo Pistoletto's Carte Blanche at the Louvre

Michelangelo Pistoletto, co-founder of Arte Povera, presents a carte blanche exhibition at the Musée du Louvre from April 25 to September 2, 2013. Invited by curator Marie-Laure Bernadac, Pistoletto installed historical and recent works across a dozen rooms, including the Grande Galerie, the Salon Denon, the Rotonde de Mars, and the Richelieu wing. The exhibition features key pieces such as "Obelisco e terzo paradiso" (1976-2013), a truncated pyramid with a geometric figure made of compressed clothing symbolizing the "third paradise"—a hoped-for era of ecological awareness. Also on view is "Venus aux chiffons" (1967), placed among Greek antiquities, juxtaposing timelessness and ephemerality. Pistoletto's mirror works, including the series from 1962-76, are displayed in the Italian paintings department, reflecting viewers and questioning temporal concordance. Other works include "Cage" (1962-1973) and a performance-documented broken mirror series. The exhibition confronts contemporary art with the museum's rich heritage, testing Pistoletto's artistic language against centuries of aesthetic history. The artist aims to provoke critical reflection on time, consumption, and environmental stewardship.