Abteiberg 2010

Giuseppe Penone created Abteiberg using stone and plants, and in doing so, he brought together natural elements in a way that challenges our perception of sculpture. Penone’s practice often involves working directly with organic materials. In Abteiberg, the stone may have been shaped or carved, but the plants follow their own inherent growth patterns. The stone provides a sense of mass and permanence, contrasting with the plants’ constant state of flux. The artist skillfully combines contrasting elements: the rough and the smooth, the still and the growing. He highlights the beauty found in the inherent qualities of the stone and vegetation. The materials and their arrangement allow a meditation on time, growth, and the interconnection between humans and the natural world. Abteiberg invites us to consider how natural materials and processes can be integral components of art, blurring lines between the intentional creation of a work and the environment it inhabits.