A prestigious achievement for Michelangelo Pistoletto: the Roswitha Haftmann foundation has selected him to receive the award of the same name. The artist from Biella is the 18th winner, and the first Italian to be honoured with it. In the next few months, a reception will celebrate the conferment, but, in line with the desire of the artist to come second after his art, the board of the foundation will present him with the accolade in the course of a small ceremony in the Kunsthaus Zürich. The award was created on an initiative by Roswitha Haftmann (1924–1998): since 2001 her foundation has conferred it to male and female artists to celebrate their careers. The winner is identified by the board of the foundation, composed of the directors of the Kunstmuseum Bern, the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne and the Kunsthaus Zürich, as well as members nominated by the board.
“For over 50 years – we read on the press release of the Roswitha Haftmann foundation – Pistoletto has dealt with the interrelations between art and society through installations, films and performances, as well as writings. Since the ‘70s, his creativity has had an international appeal, in particular in the USA and South America, and his works are present in numerous public collections. He is considered one of the main representatives of performative art for his shrewd representations of social and political issues and for triggering sometimes controversial debates with the wide public. The Roswitha Haftmann foundation wishes to award Michelangelo Pistoletto for his whole artistic career”.
