Michelangelo Pistoletto's Labyrinth of Preventive Peace at Palazzo Reale

At age 90, Michelangelo Pistoletto presents not a retrospective but a large installation titled "La Pace Preventiva" (Preventive Peace) in the Sala delle Cariatidi of Palazzo Reale in Milan. The work is a labyrinth of corrugated cardboard that visitors must navigate, encountering mirrors, sculptures, a table for dialogue, a reconstructed Venus of the Rags, and a video of the artist's voice. Curator Fortunato D'Amico explains the labyrinth as a metaphor for the hero Theseus confronting the Minotaur, symbolizing all forms of oppression. The installation extends to other Milan venues: the Museo di Storia Naturale, the Planetarium, the Acquario Civico, and piazza Duca d'Aosta in front of Stazione Centrale, where Pistoletto's permanent work "La Mela reintegrata" (The Reintegrated Apple) is located. The apple also appears at Palazzo Reale covered in soft textile fiber. The symbol of the Third Paradise, an infinity sign, dominates the exhibition. Pistoletto's art is presented as a tool for growth, echoing his earlier "Zoo" period.