Giuseppe Penone: stone heart x 3

8:16 p.m.

08/24/17 - As a good Piedmontese, Giuseppe Penone (1947) lived his childhood surrounded by chestnut and hazelnut trees. As an adult he becomes interested in the relationship between men and Nature. He starts doing interventions on those grounds, modifying trees and imposing his will in their normal development. With this human intrusion in a natural process, the artist wants us to think deeply about ourselves and what surround us: human orden over natural chaos (or viceversa?). Here, three of his artworks.

Munster Skulptur Projekte (1987)

A 7 mts-long fallen tree trunk has a branch which constantly pours drops of water. The liquid comes from a reservoir found at a nearby cementery. The fallen tree is in fact a bronze structure and it acts as a water fountain.

Munster, by Giuseppe Penone (1987)

Material: bronze / Measures: 7 mts long

Progetto Pozzo di Münster

Kassel, Documenta 13, 2012

A granite stone in the cup of a hazelnut tree in Karlsaue Park? Yes, that's what it seems at first glance, but up close we realize its a bronze sculpture in the shape of a tree. On its pruned branches it holds a large granite stone. The artworks was the first to be exhibited for documenta 13, two years before its opening, on June 21, 2010 at 12 pm, during Summer's solstice. It still remains at the park... however, the citizens of Kassel prefer to relax under the shadows of the real nearby trees.

Ideas of Stone, by Giuseppe Penone (2010)

Material: bronze and granite

Rome, Palazzo Fendi

"Stone leaves" is placed in the center of the city of Rome, just in front of Fendi's flagship store. The sculpture is a donation from the brand to the city. As in the two previous artworks, this one is also made of bronze but in this case it holds a large marble block. Penone did not choose marble randomly but because it is intimately related to the history of Rome and its rich architecture, made mostly with marble. However Romans are not so fond of Contemporary art, something Penone chooses to ignore.