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December 17, 2021 to June 19, 2022
Curator: Pier Paolo Pancotto
Following a major solo exhibition organized by Richard Peduzzi in 2008, Giuseppe Penone returns to Villa Medici with a project designed especially for the historic rooms of Cardinal Ferdinand de’ Medici. From December 16, 2021 to February 27, 2022, the artist presents three pieces emblematic of his poetic approach: Vaso (1986) in ceramic and plaster; Il vuoto del vaso (2005) ; Avvolgere la terra – vaso (2005) in white terracotta and plaster, and the five terracotta and bronze sculptures entitled Terra su terra – bacile (2005).
While the 2008 exhibition was presented in the more emblematic and majestic spaces of the Villa Medici, this time the artist is taking on a more intimate setting: the private rooms of Cardinal Ferdinand de’ Medici (Chambre des Eléments, Chambre des Muses, Chambre des Amours de Jupiter). For this project, Giuseppe Penone set out to highlight the singularity of the spaces by presenting three pieces that question the material and concept of sculpture. A case in point is Vaso, a ceramic dish housing a plaster vase whose unstructured silhouette bears the imprint of the artist’s hands, echoing the private, almost domestic functions of the space in which it is housed. The artist’s imprint can also be seen in Il vuoto del vaso, a composition consisting of a vase framed by three X-ray photographs of hands, which plays on the materiality of forms and their visual perception. Finally, the encounter between gesture and material is found in the third work, Avvolgere la terra – vaso (2005), created in terracotta, and a synthesis of a universal form that underlines the complex link between man and nature. Terracotta is also the material of the vase at the center of the video Ephemeris, part of the homonymous cycle of 2016, as well as the bowls supported by bronze bases and inspired by plant elements in the series Terra su terra – bacile (2005).
From January 20 to February 13, 2022, Villa Medici also presented, in the exceptional space of the Roman Cistern, the entire video cycle Ephemeris (2016) video cycle.
Giuseppe Penone
Giuseppe Penone was born in Garessio (Italy) in 1947. He now lives and works in Turin. In 1968, he began exhibiting and joined the Arte Povera movement. In his sculptures and installations, the working process is an integral part of the work: it is the various actions performed by the artist’s hand and by nature that together give shape to a material, each time different, revealing its fantastic dimension. The tree, which Penone considers “the first and simplest idea of vitality, culture and sculpture”, is a central element in his work. In 2007, he represented Italy at the 52nd Venice Biennale; in 2013, he exhibited his monumental sculptures in the gardens of the Château de Versailles. The artist has presented several solo exhibitions, including at the Centre Pompidou (Paris, 2004), the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, 2016) and the BNF (Paris, 2021).
Pier Paolo Pancotto
Pier Paolo Pancotto has curated the Art Club exhibition program at Villa Medici since 2016. Previously, he curated the Fortezzuola exhibition cycle at the Museo Pietro Canonica, Rome, 2016-2018; as well as exhibition projects at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris; the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, London; Galleria nazionale d’arte, Tirana; Lateral Art Space, Cluj; Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna, Rome; Museo H. C. Andersen, Rome; Museo Carlo Bilotti, Rome; Nomas Foundation, Rome; Casa Scatturin, Venice and La Fondazione, Rome. His publications include Artiste a Roma nella prima metà del ‘900 (2006); Arte contemporanea: dal minimalismo alle ultime tendenze (2010); Arte contemporanea. Il nuovo millennio (2013).
Initiated in 2016 under the curatorship of Pier Paolo Pancotto, the Art Club series presents the work of international contemporary artists at Villa Medici in a spirit of openness to the most varied forms of creation. Recent exhibits include: Mircea Cantor, Namsal Siedlecki, Achraf Touloub, Arcangelo Sassolino, Julius von Bismarck, Marinella Senatore, Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Cyprien Gaillard…
With the support of galerie GAGOSIAN:
Images from Photogallery :
Daniele Molajoli
