Pistoletto applies photographic collage images on polished, unoxidized steel which reflects the room in which the painting is placed. Thus the viewer and his environment virtually become part of the painting -- a startling result similar to the experience of "happenings" in which the spectator is an active participant.

Pistoletto's figures appear either in relaxed, contemplative attitudes or are shown as part of processions frozen in motion. Figures and objects are based on actual photographs and are shown in mildly distorted "actual" color produced with crayon and other means. Such selective use of the photographic process, frequently used in American Pop art, implies a "cool," detached manner of direct presentation -- with immediately recognizable images whose presence in the painting remains enigmatic and rather mysterious.

Composition is a critical element in Pistoletto's work. His figures are carefully located on the picture surface and great attention is given to their contour. The background of the composition is deliberately left incomplete -- the room in which the picture is place becomes the background, since it is reflected in the picture's surface.

Pistoletto was born in Turin, Italy, in 1933, and his work has appeared in group exhibitions in Europe and the U.S. His first one-man show in the U.S., at Walker Art Center, will continue through May 8 [1966].