Michelangelo Pistoletto Louvre +1 Mirror Paintings Series Display at Louvre Abu Dhabi

Louvre Abu Dhabi has announced the extension of Michelangelo Pistoletto Louvre +1 Mirror Paintings series display until 15 May 2023. For its fifth anniversary, Louvre Abu Dhabi invited the renowned Italian artist to exhibit a series of mirror paintings, inspired by Pistoletto’s exhibition Year 1, Paradise on Earth at Musée du Louvre in 2013.

For Louvre Abu Dhabi, the artist created new mirror works representing both images of the museums’ visitors and those of ancient sculptures, thus creating a direct relationship with the works on display. The series encompasses eleven mirrors and is presented in the permanent galleries of Louvre Abu Dhabi, interacting with the collection and creating a dialogue from one Louvre to another.

Most of Pistoletto’s mirror paintings are constructed around a series of oppositions: between people of the past and those of the present, between the nude and clothed body, and between a body of flesh and one of stone. The Michelangelo Pistoletto Louvre + 1 Mirror Paintings enable the superimposition of three times: past (photography), present (reflection in the mirror) and future (the photography become the memory of a moment that follows all succeeding moments). This temporary artwork serves as a symbolic image where Louvre Abu Dhabi becomes a mirror of humanity and a place where all ages and civilisations meet.

This is the second collaboration between Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Michelangelo Pistoletto. Previous display for Pistoletto included the temporary installation of The Labyrinth, a colossal maze made from sinuous ribbons of corrugated cardboard as part of Stories of Paper exhibition (20 April – 24 July 2022).

For more information on Louvre Abu Dhabi and its current programming, please visit https://www.louvreabudhabi.ae/.