Michelangelo Pistoletto

Silkscreen on super mirror stainless steel
98 7/16 x 59 1/16 inches (250 x 150 cm)
© Michelangelo Pistoletto

We can transform the world, starting from Cuba. It is a fertile ground for experimentation, innovation, and change. . . . A cultural, artistic and scientific platform has been consolidated in Cuba, upon which we can generate and help to grow a kind of politics that will lead to renewal of the whole society.

—Michelangelo Pistoletto

Inspired by Pistoletto’s visit to Cuba in 2015, Quattro persone in conversazione (Four People in Conversation) is one of a group of Quadri specchianti (Mirror Paintings) that represents the daily lives of Cuban citizens. With poses and gestures that indicate an involved discussion, the four subjects occupy the foreground of the mirrored work. The gathered piles of flowers in its bottom register suggest a marketplace setting, imply the productive budding of their conversation, and symbolize the flowering of Cuba’s potential.

Quattro persone in conversazione epitomizes Pistoletto’s commitment to “demopraxy”: a term coined by the artist that combines “demos” (people) and “praxis” (practice), acknowledging that it is the lives and associations of ordinary people who constitute our social fabric. As a principle, demopraxy attempts to promote the development of these associations so as to establish responsible, sustainable transformations of society and government. Through his Terzo Paradiso (Third Paradise) initiative, Pistoletto has given sustained attention to Cuba, organizing multiple Rebirth Forums in Havana to bring together citizens, associations, and organizations to advance these ideals. His art was also presented by Havana’s Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes Arte Universal at a 2016 exhibition that included the present work.