TRATTENERE 8 ANNI DI CRESCITA (CONTINUERÀ A CRESCERE TRANNE CHE IN QUEL PUNTO) 2012

This is a bronze sculpture of a tree trunk with a hand grasping it, by Giuseppe Penone. The texture, with its granular quality, is very present; it's as if the artist wanted us to be hyper-aware of the tree’s surface. The interesting thing about Penone’s work is his process, how he takes something natural and then intervenes, playing with concepts of growth, time, and human interaction. The hand, gripping the tree, creates a tension between holding on and letting go. I mean, how long can you hold a tree? This contrast makes me think about the way we try to control nature or even our own lives, and how futile that can be. It’s worth thinking about Penone alongside other artists of Arte Povera. Like them, he's making us think about the relationships between humans and the environment, but also how our efforts to shape it are always a negotiation, a dialogue, never a complete imposition of will.