The series Vortice (Vortex) was initially conceived by Michelangelo Pistoletto for his solo exhibition at the Louvre, Année un – le paradis sur terre (2013). Each work in the series explores the relationship between light and dark, alternating black and white mirrors in perfect harmony. In Vortice-trittico (Vortex-triptych), interlocking forms appear to cascade across the individual elements, creating organic forms that achieve a balance of opposing entities – light and dark, positive and negative, empty and full. The juxtaposition of these poles evokes the forms of Yin and Yang, bestowing both physical and metaphysical meanings upon the work.

As with other mirror works by the artist, this example also engages with themes including the active dimension of time; the integral inclusion of the observer and the surroundings; and the complete obliteration of the sense of the picture surface being an illusory window onto the world – the mirror instead encapsulates objectively the infinity.