"The Bloomberg Commission: Giuseppe Penone: Spazio di Luce" at Whitechapel Gallery, London.

on view September 4, 2012–August 11, 2013

Over the past 45 years, Italian artist Giuseppe Penone has examined our relationship to nature. For the latest Bloomberg Commission, he has created a twelve metre bronze cast of a tree, with a radiant gold-leaf interior, which spreads across the columned gallery.

In 1969 Giuseppe Penone (b. 1947) covered a tree in a thin layer of wax calling this seemingly simple, yet complex reflection on the passing of time All the Years of the tree plus one. He now recalls this poetic action by casting a layer of wax in bronze to spectacular result.

At first sight Spazio di Luce (Space of Light), could easily be mistaken for the straightforward life-size cast of a large larch tree. However, where once there was a tree now there is a void. The inside of the cast replicates in minute detail the tree’s bark while the finger prints on the outside safeguard the memory of the many hands involved in the sculpture’s making. The gleaming gold inside the tree pays tribute to the life-giving forces of light.

At the same time, the fusion of bark and hand prints alludes to the inseparable bond between humankind and nature. Penone was part of the legendary group of Arte Povera, which called for a radical rethink of society through making works directly appealing to the senses and challenging common conventions of artmaking.

The installation is accompanied by a yearlong programme of talks and events exploring the rich relationship between nature and the city.

VISITOR INFORMATION
Whitechapel Gallery
77–82 Whitechapel High Street
London E1 7QX
ENGLAND
T. +44.20.7522.7878
Website: Whitechapel | Penone