Metaphysical Conversations with Nature: Artist Giuseppe Penone speaks with Curator Jed Morse

Presented September 19, 2015 at the Nasher Sculpture Center.

Italian Artist Giuseppe Penone speaks in conversation with Curator Jed Morse in conjunction with his Nasher exhibition, ‘Giuseppe Penone: Being the River, Repeating the Forest’, the first U.S. museum exhibition of his work in over thirty years.

Giuseppe Penone has played an integral role in the development of art over the past five decades. From his conceptual and performative works of the 1960s and 70s to the large-scale sculptural installations of the past 10 years, Penone has explored intimate, sensate and metaphysical connections with nature. From carving large trees along their grown patterns to reveal the sapling contained within; elaborating the interior space of his closed hand into a large-scale sculpture that both contains his hand and enlarges the space it contains; to rendering the swirling mists of his breath in the cold in tactile clay forms that contain the impression of his body; Penone works in a stunning variety of materials – including clay, wood, stone, metal, plaster, resin, acacia thorns – to make palpable and present the analogous processes of nature and art.

Giuseppe Penone was born in 1947 in Garessio, Italy. He belonged to Italy’s Arte Povera movement of the 1960s. Like many in the group, Penone uses simple materials from daily life to unsettle the boundaries between art and nature, and to point out the interdependence among all organic life forms. His work demonstrates an attitude of astonishment and respect for all materials from the natural environment – stone, resin, leather and wood. In this installation, Penone has carved out the wood to reveal its past, showing the tree that grew inside so that it may “live” in the present. Rather than imposing a form, the artist — in contrast to the architect of this space — draws out an existing form. Penone’s practice pulsates with an awareness of a common vital force in all living things. Insights are gained through physical exploration of space. This ongoing exchange between the self and the world can be seen in the way Penone relates his art to nature — an interaction between inner and outer realms. Inspired by the quiet slowness of growth in the natural world, the work suggests a sense of time much broader than that encountered in our daily existence.

The Nasher Sculpture Center’s ongoing 360 Speaker Series features conversations and lectures on the ever-expanding definition of sculpture. Guests are invited to witness first-hand accounts of the inspiration behind some of the world’s most innovative artwork, architecture and design.

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The 360 videography project is supported by Suzanne and Ansel Aberly. This support enables digital recording of all 360 Speaker Series programs and the creation of an online archive for learners of all ages.
Additional support for the 360 Speaker Series provided by Sylvia Hougland and the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.