Michelangelo Pistoletto: The Mirror of Judgement, Serpentine Gallery - review - Arts

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Pistoletto's constant is mirrors, used to explore self-knowledge: in mirrors, he argues, the viewer can "free their own consciousness". Here, mirror-based sculptures are situated throughout a labyrinth of rolls of cardboard. Religious and spiritual themes dominate, from the Trumpets of Judgement (1968), vast funnels evoking the instruments of the Last Judgement, to a four-part sculpture, The Time of Judgement (2009), symbolising monotheistic religions and combining mirrors with found objects - a prie-dieu for Christianity; a decorative Islamic prayer mat. It all leads to a mirrored obelisk penetrating a black symbol formed from three interlocking ovals.

This signifies Pistoletto's utopian ideal - a "Third Paradise", which integrates the natural balance of the pre-civilisation planet with our current ecologically unsustainable world.

Sadly, the work fails to convey Pistoletto's sincere vision meaningfully: an arcane anticlimax to an otherwise stirring show.

Until September 17 (020 7402 6075, serpentinegallery.org)

Michelangelo Pistoletto
Serpentine Gallery
Kensington Gardens, W2 3XA