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Giuseppe Penone: Thoughts in the Roots

This catalogue accompanies the exhibition Thoughts in the Roots presented at Serpentine South 3 April – 7 September 2025. The exhibition brings together artworks from 1969 to today, illustrating Giuseppe Penone’s practice in exploring the synergy between organic and artistic processes.

A leading figure in the Arte Povera — an influential movement that emerged in Italy in the 1960s, celebrating the simplicity of natural materials and artistic techniques — Penone experiments with a wide range of materials including wood, iron, wax, bronze, terracotta, marble, and plaster, bringing their individual physical qualities to the fore. Through a series of sculptures, drawings and installations, Penone reveals nature’s hidden structures, rhythms, and gestures.

Designed by Atelier Dyakova, the publication features drawings and new writings from Penone alongside contributions from philosopher and writer Federico Campagna, composer and musician Ludovico Einaudi, artist and poet Precious Okoyomon and award-winning writer Elif Shafak. The publication also includes an extended interview between Penone and Hans Ulrich Obrist discussing the artist’s inspiration and practice. 

£35

Dimensions: 306 x 220 mm
Pages: 168 pages with 1 page of insert 
Binding: Hardcover

Edited by: Claude Adjil and Alexa Chow
Publication date: June 2025

ISBN 978-1-908617-92-7 Serpentine, London

ISBN 978-3-7533-0882-1 Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, Köln

© Photo: readsreads.info

Giuseppe Penone

See more products by   Giuseppe Penone

Giusseppe Penone who was born in 1947 in Garessio draws deep inspiration from the forested landscapes of the region. A leading figure in the Arte Povera movement — a term coined in 1967 by art critic Germano Celant that translates as ‘poor art’— Penone works with simple, natural materials to reveal the beauty of the vegetal world. 

Giuseppe Penone lives and works in Turin, Italy and has been featured in solo exhibitions worldwide including at the Fondazione Ferrero, Alba (2024); at the Galleria Borghese, Rome (2023); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2004, 2022); Philadelphia Museum of Art (2022); Villa Medici, Rome (2021); Palais d’léna – CESE, Paris (2019); Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield (2018); Chateau La Coste, Le Puy-SainteRéparade (2017); Palazzo della Civiltà, Rome (2017); Louvre Abu Dhabi (2017); MART, Rovereto (2016); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (2016); Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas (2015); Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne (2015); the Beirut Art Center (2014); the Musée de Grenoble (2014); the Château de Versailles (2013); Kunstmuseum Winterthur (2013); Madison Square Park, New York (2013) and Whitechapel Gallery, London (2013). Giuseppe Penone has exhibited at Documenta V (1972), VII (1982), VIII (1987) and XIII (2012) and at the Venice Biennale in 1978, 1980, 1986, 1995 and 2007.

 


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