Mariano Rossi Hall

For Penone, the tree, the key element in his work, is “the first and simplest idea of vitality, culture, sculpture”. Making his first Alberi / Trees, Penone chose beams where the trunk’s central axis was visible, its core of concentric rings corresponding to the tree’s age. Following its outline with traditional carvers’ tools like mallets, gouges and chisels, he started digging into the wood along one ring, scraping the beam. When he came across a knot, he dug around it and unearthed portions of branch that, over time, had been incorporated into the trunk. He hollowed out the beam until the plant emerged as it had been in an age before the hand of man or natural agents stunted its growth.

The action of scraping the beam operates a twofold revelation: unearthing the initial tree, and revealing the natural origin of many objects in our daily lives. Our ability to see is heightened by looking at such works: planks, floors, chairs, boats, all such artifacts appear to us as what they truly once were. Trees.

Penone’s intervention is a general reflection on approaching the issue of sculpture encapsulated in matter.

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