MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO

The breaking of the mirror is a performance, that is, an action that takes place at a precise moment. The fragments fall to the ground, leaving holes of different form inside each of the large mirrors. The forms in each mirror remain fixed, while the mirrored images continue to change. And so, in the incessant flow of time, we observe the forms in the mirror, which, black or colored, remain immobile forever.

—Michelangelo Pistoletto

Onda (2010) was created through the act of breaking a mirror and repurposing the gaps. Michelangelo Pistoletto began working with mirrors in 1962 when he made his first Quadri specchianti (Mirror Paintings) to incorporate the reality of the viewer into his art and tug at the boundaries between art and life. Here, however, Pistoletto disturbs the path of light so it no longer reflects a cohesive whole. Yet reflected light continues to arise out of darkness, which for the artist represents the creation of the universe. Onda captures the dynamism inherent to natural processes, offering an image of organic life that is completed by the viewer’s reflection.

MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO
Onda
2010
Mirror, black mirror, and gilded wood frame
79 7/8 x 56 5/16 inches (203 x 143 cm)
© Michelangelo Pistoletto