I saw this show whilst on honeymoon back in 2013, it is funny how I had forgotten about it for a good number of the intervening years. The use of gold leaf having an added potency by its use in Versaille. Not only is it being used in an act of sympathetic repair to totems of damaged nature. But due to its over use within the palace it highlights the wealth and crass opulence which can often be the cause of such damage.
The trees themselves stand quietly within the gardens, some sat apart from the trees some amongst them. They act as beautiful damaged pillars, reminiecent of the ruined pillars of antiquity. But the use of materials and the subverted natural shapes make us reasses the actual nature of the trees they represent, especially once you realise they are bronze, not wood.
beyond the use of gold and the broader themes of mans impact on the natural world, there is a lot of cross over between this show and Penome’s work and my practice. Mine albiet being amended prints over large scale physical objects.
This summer the Château de Versailles hosts Giuseppe Penone for a major exhibition of contemporary art. While some pieces are installed within the palace, the majority of works are outside with a select few specially presented in the French formal gardens designed in the 18th century by André Le Notre, which celebrate their 400th anniversary this year. Brilliantly sited, the rigorous formality of the impeccably manicured gardens contrast against Penone’s large-scale sculptures of trees, the grandeur of which exalts both the artist’s hand and nature’s uncultivated beauty.
A leading figure of the Arte Povera movement – literally translated as “poor art,” a term coined by Germano Celant for a group of Italian artists inspired by the politics of 1960s who in response to the increasing commercialization of culture often used simple, everyday materials in their work – Penone joins an international roster of art superstars to have shown at Versailles, including Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, Bernar Venet and Joana Vasconcelos. The exhibition, which opened on June 11th and runs through October 30th, is curated by Alfred Pacquement, director of The Centre Pompidou in Paris.
