Michelangelo Pistoletto, Spazio Libero (The Free Space) (1976-2025) and Divisione e moltiplicazione dello specchio (Division and multiplication of the mirror) (2025). Courtesy of Galleria Continua. Photography by Sreekanth Sivaswamy
Artist Talk Screening | Michelangelo Pistoletto
Date: Sunday, 29 March 2026
Time: 7 PM (IST)
Venue:
Mehboob John Talkies, Fort Kochi
Dr no. 6/151718
St. Jacob Chappel Road, Chakkamadam, Mattancherry Kochi, Kerala 682002
Format: Presented as an in-person screening of a pre-recorded session, streamed online simultaneously on Ishara’s YouTube channel.
Open to public. No pre-registration required, seating subject to availability.
Ishara Art Foundation presents an artist talk with Michelangelo Pistoletto that marks the first major showcase of his works in South Asia. The artist engages in a conversation with Artistic Director Riyas Komu and curatorial advisor Prof. C S Venkiteswaran, moderated by Dr. Gražina Subelytė, curator of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The talk revisits the two series by Pistoletto featured in Amphibian Aesthetics: The Free Space and Division and multiplication of the mirror, where reflection becomes a metaphor for growth, exchange, and collective experience. It explores these works within the curatorial framework of the exhibition, and in the context of Kerala’s historical and philosophical traditions, where the mirror recurs as a metaphorical and material trope.
Michelangelo Pistoletto is a renowned artist based in Biella. He was a key figure of the avant-garde Arte Povera movement of the 1960s–80s, and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025. His multimedia practice, which examines the role of art in society, extends into public actions and interdisciplinary collaborations.
Riyas Komu is an artist and curator whose multidisciplinary practice explores war, migration, memory, and social conflict. Co-founder of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and URU Art Harbour, he has curated major cultural initiatives and exhibitions.
Prof. C S Venkiteshwaran is a Kerala-based film critic, documentary filmmaker, curator, and translator who writes in English and Malayalam. Author of several books on cinema and media, he has contributed widely to journals and served on juries and curatorial teams at major film festivals across India.
Dr. Gražina Subelytė is the curator of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. She completed her PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, and has authored numerous essays on modern and contemporary art, which also include an exploration of an amphibian view of the world.