In the heart of Düsseldorf's Bilk district, the UP&CO @ EK Studio space opens its doors to an unprecedented dialogue between two artists who have made the relationship between art and society their signature. Mirror in Time, on view from October 28 to November 29, 2025, brings together the work of Michelangelo Pistoletto and Erinna König, two voices who, despite belonging to different backgrounds, share a common vision: art as a tool for awareness and transformation.

The exhibition's title is already a declaration of intent. In Pistoletto's celebrated Mirror Paintings, the viewer physically enters the work, becoming part of it and reflecting their own image in a time that renews itself with every glance. Those glossy, ever-changing surfaces here become a metaphor for a continuous present, open to the past and projected toward the future.

Answering this question, in a dialogue spanning decades, are the works and actions of Erinna König (1947–2021), an artist born in the Sauerland region and a central figure in the German conceptual and performance art scene. A student of Joseph Beuys at the Düsseldorf Academy, König, from her early days, combined a creative practice rooted in a strong social and community dimension. In the 1970s, she founded the Büro Olympia group, a hub for collective actions and public interventions that reflected the spirit of a generation convinced that art could change the world. In the exhibition, photographs, documents, and archival materials retrace that period of political fervor and inventiveness, restoring the vitality of a scene in which art emerged from the studios to inhabit the streets.

As curator Uscha Pohl writes, "the exhibition reflects the need to remember the past in order to build a united future together, embodying personal and social responsibility." A message that resonates powerfully in Pistoletto's work and in the mission of Cittadellarte, which has always been committed to promoting art as a tool for transformation. Therefore, Mirror in Time is more than an exhibition: it is an invitation to see ourselves through others, to recognize in the reflection of the past a responsibility for the present.

Visiting Information:

Opening / Private View: Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 6:00–8:00 PM
Location: UP&CO @ EK Studio, Bachstr. 62, 40217 Düsseldorf – Bilk
Opening Period: October 28–November 29, 2025
Hours: By appointment

For more information and insights: https://djournal.de/michelangelo-pistoletto-mirror-in-time