Extended through November 30, 2019
About
The bifurcations of the trees that appear so intimately human to us . . . The bifurcations of the fingers, by their movement through space, form the branches, the roots, and by the succession of actions in the same points, construct the branches and trunk of the plant. The woodland landscape is the action of sculpture.
—Giuseppe Penone
Gagosian is pleased to present an exhibition of sculptures and drawings by Giuseppe Penone, his first in San Francisco.
Penone uses objects from the natural world to document the intertwined relationship between humans and nature in evolution over a macroscopic, geological timeline. He was a proponent of the radical Arte Povera movement, beginning in Italy in the 1960s, which used “poor” and unconventional materials such as soil or plant matter to evoke a preindustrial age and subtly critique systems of industrialization, mechanization, and art. Penone’s earliest works included site-specific sculptures situated in the woods around his Piedmont hometown—the start of a decades-long fascination with the arboreal that is still prevalent in his work today.
This exhibition will feature a selection of works in bronze, stone, and marble illustrating Penone’s ability to seamlessly transpose human-made and naturally occurring patterns. In Respirare l’ombra – foglie di tè (To Breathe the Shadow – Leaves of Tea) (2008), a branch-like pair of bronze lungs emerges from a metal-gridded wall of tea leaves, creating a direct link between plant respiration and the inhalation and exhalation of human breath. Freestanding sculptures such as the cast bronze foliage of Pensieri di foglie (Thoughts of Leaves) (2014–17) compare traces made by the artist’s hand to the weathering and degenerative marks made on plants and minerals as they are left to the elements.
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Giuseppe Penone at Fort Mason
An outdoor installation by Giuseppe Penone in San Francisco’s historic Fort Mason features two life-size bronze sculptures cast from fallen trees. The project continues the artist’s long investigation of the perpetual give-and-take between humans and nature. In this video, Penone discusses what drew him to this landscape and the concepts behind the installation.
Giuseppe Penone: Foglie di bronzo / Leaves of Bronze
Gagosian director Pepi Marchetti Franchi speaks about Giuseppe Penone’s recent exhibition in San Francisco, detailing the various works and their relationships to the artist’s long-standing sculptural practice.
Now available
Gagosian Quarterly Fall 2022
The Fall 2022 issue of Gagosian Quarterly is now available, featuring Jordan Wolfson’s House with Face (2017) on its cover.
Giuseppe Penone À La Tourette
Le Couvent Sainte-Marie de La Tourette, in Éveux, France, is both an active Dominican priory and the last building designed by Le Corbusier. As a result, the priory, completed in 1961, is a center both religious and architectural, a site of spiritual significance and a magnetic draw for artists, writers, architects, and others. This fall, at the invitation of Frère Marc Chauveau, Giuseppe Penone will be exhibiting a selection of existing sculptures at La Tourette alongside new work directly inspired by the context and materials of the building. Here, Penone and Frère Chauveau discuss the power and peculiarities of the space, as well as the artwork that will be exhibited there.
Augurs of Spring
As spring approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, Sydney Stutterheim reflects on the iconography and symbolism of the season in art both past and present.
Giuseppe Penone: By the Bay
Elizabeth Mangini writes on Giuseppe Penone’s installation of two sculptures at San Francisco’s Fort Mason.
News
Public Installation
Giuseppe Penone at Fort Mason
October 24, 2019–March 28, 2021
Fort Mason, San Francisco
parksconservancy.org
Gagosian presents an outdoor installation by Giuseppe Penone in San Francisco’s historic Fort Mason. Two sculptures by Penone—La logica del vegetale (The Logic of the Vegetal) (2012) and Idee di pietra (Ideas of Stone) (2004)—will be installed in Fort Mason’s Great Meadow, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, overlooking San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. This project is presented in partnership with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area through the Art in the Parks program. To attend the opening reception on Thursday, October 24, from 5 to 6:30pm, RSVP to rsvpsf@gagosian.com.
Download the full press release (PDF)
Giuseppe Penone, Idee di pietra (Ideas of Stone), 2004, installation view, Fort Mason, San Francisco, 2019–21 © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Photo: Matthew Millman
Opening
Giuseppe Penone at Fort Mason
Thursday, October 24, 2019, 5–6:30pm
Great Meadow, Fort Mason, San Francisco
www.parksconservancy.org
As the sun sets over the San Francisco Bay, join us to celebrate the opening of a public installation of two large-scale bronze sculptures by Giuseppe Penone in San Francisco’s historic Fort Mason. The evening will include brief remarks by Gagosian’s Charlie Spalding with a drinks reception to follow. To attend the free event, RSVP to rsvpsf@gagosian.com.
Giuseppe Penone, Idee di pietra (Ideas of Stone), 2004, installation view, Fort Mason, San Francisco, 2019–21 © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Photo: Archivio Penone
Tour
Giuseppe Penone
Foglie di bronzo / Leaves of Bronze
Saturday, September 14, 2019, 3pm
Gagosian, San Francisco
Join Gagosian for a tour of Giuseppe Penone’s first solo exhibition in San Francisco. Penone uses objects from the natural world to document the intertwined relationship between humans and nature. Gagosian’s Graham Dalik will provide an overview of the artist’s career, from his early works as a major figure of the Arte Povera movement in the 1960s to the present day, and offer an in-depth look at a selection of the sculptures on view in the show. To attend the free event, RSVP to sftours@gagosian.com.
Giuseppe Penone, Pensieri di foglie (Thoughts of Leaves), 2014 (detail) © 2019 Giuseppe Penone/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Photo: Archivio Penone