Artist: Giuseppe Penone

“You can think of casting as though the sculptor were the cast of his sculpture. When he models a form, he's obliged to adapt his hands and movements to the material in order to obtain a form. In that sense, he's the negative of his own sculpture.” - Giuseppe Penone, Interview with Benjamin Buchloh, May 2012, New York

Marian Goodman Gallery Paris presents envelopper la Terre, a solo exhibition of works by Giuseppe Penone in the space at 66 rue du Temple. This exhibition marks the debut of Avvolgere la terra (To enfold the earth), 2024, a new limited edition produced in collaboration with Marian Goodman Gallery. Following Journal, a limited edition by Bruce Nauman published by the gallery in 2022, this new editioned work revisits our history, echoing the activities of Multiples, Inc, a pioneering art publishing company founded by Marian Goodman in the 1960s. Avvolgere la terra, consisting of 17 sculptures in terracotta with ochre and yellow pigments, refers in name to a primordial gesture, underscoring the intricate relationship between nature and humanity. The edition will be displayed with a selection of works on paper with the same title dating from 2010 and 2015, as well as in dialogue with Pressione (Pressure), 1977 a rarely seen large-scale immersive charcoal wall drawing which has been specially reproduced for this occasion.

For Avvolgere la terra, 2024, Penone applies his tactile approach to the materials, revisiting the process of “fossilizing a gesture.” Holding terracotta fragments between his hands, a group of unique sculptures emerge from the raw material, imprinted with the surface of his skin, the contours of his palm and fingers. As Francesco Guzzetti states, “it is from the negative of his hand, and the embrace of the closed fist that the material takes shape.” The soft, rounded forms crystallize through the compression of materials, enhanced by a vibrant palette of ocre and yellow pigments. In this manner, Penone highlights the tangible nature of the earth, cradling it in his hands to evoke a sense of touch and to underscore his relationship with the natural world. As each handful of earth is different, each of the 17 editions is unique.

Handful of Clay

I held a piece of clay with the skin of my hands,
I held it tightly, imprinting it with my touch.

I felt the clay's smooth surface, its delicate, dusty porosity,
soft to the touch, like the velvet of leather turned inside out
with its light filaments that allow it to adhere to the flesh that envelops it.

By touching and enveloping the outer surface of things with our hands,
we cover them with imprints and define their inner space.
Our inner sensations define the space beyond our hands, surrounding and delimiting it.

Through the action of our hands, we cover and discover matter and its form.

- Giuseppe Penone, 2015

An immersive wall drawing, Pressione, 1977, occupies the entire exhibition space, tracing the impression of skin in charcoal from a wall projection, and echoing the theme of the import of human imprints and fossilized gestures. Penone first publicly produced this work for his seminal solo show at the Kunstmuseum Luzern in 1977.

Accompanying the wall installation and the terracotta edition and presented on the surrounding walls are two sets of drawings, each titled Avvolgere la terra. One set is created from pigment, graphite and adhesive tape on paper (2010) and the second from typographic ink and acrylic (2015); highlighting the sculpture’s original form: a “handful of clay”.

Giuseppe Penone is one of the participating artists of the show Arte Povera, curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, at Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection in Paris, from 9 October 2024 to 20 January 2025.

Giuseppe Penone was born in Garessio, Italy in 1947. He lives and works in Turin. Giuseppe Penone has had recent solo exhibitions at the Galleria Borghese, Rome (2023); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2022; 2004); Philadelphia Museum of Art (2022); Villa Medici, Rome (2021); Palais d'Iéna - CESE, Paris, France (2019); Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, UK (2018); Chateau La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade (2017); Palazzo della Civiltà, Rome (2017); Louvre Abu Dhabi, UAE (2017); MART, Rovereto (2016); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (2016); Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas (2015); Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, Switzerland (2015); the Beirut Art Center, Lebanon (2014); the Musée de Grenoble, France (2014); the Château de Versailles, France (2013); Kunstmuseum Winterthur (2013); Madison Square Park, New York (2013) and Whitechapel Gallery, London (2013).

In 2023 Penone became a Foreign Associate Member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Among his many awards he recently received the McKim Medal (2017) and the prestigious Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award for Sculpture in 2014. Giuseppe Penone has exhibited at Documenta V (1972), VII (1982), VIII (1987) and XIII (2012) and at the Venice Biennale in 1978, 1980, 1986, 1995, and 2007.

Marian Goodman Gallery champions the work of artists who stand among the most influential of our time and represents over five generations of diverse thought and practice. The Gallery’s exhibition program, characterized by its caliber and rigor, provides international platforms for its artists to showcase their work, foster vital dialogues with new audiences, and advance their practices within nonprofit and institutional realms. Established in New York City in 1977, Marian Goodman Gallery gained prominence early in its trajectory for introducing the work of seminal European artists to American audiences. Today, through its exhibition spaces in New York, Los Angeles, and Paris, the Gallery maintains its global focus, representing over 50 artists working in the U.S. and internationally.