Elevazione 2011

Giuseppe Penone, known for his sculptural works, has created a site-specific intervention with ‘Elevazione’. Penone’s sculpture is all about the dance between the man-made and the natural. The process is about bringing the hidden into view; what once grew beneath the soil is raised upwards. The work makes me think about the labor involved, not just in the physical lifting, but in the conceptual shift of perspective. The texture of the roots against the smooth, metallic supports creates a powerful contrast. This kind of artistic gesture, redirecting something existing rather than fabricating something new, reminds me of Robert Smithson’s earthworks, or even the readymades of Duchamp. But with Penone, there is also something about our emotional connection to nature. It’s about time, growth, and the ongoing dialogue between us and the world around us.