Giuseppe Penone: The Inner Life of Forms

Years in the making, The Inner Life of Forms is the most comprehensive survey of Penone’s work to date. The book—which includes many images and works published for the first time—consists of two components. The first contains a three-part, in-depth dialogue between Penone and Carlos Basualdo; an essay by Tim Ingold, accompanying a selection of images by the artist of his works on paper; an essay by Rémi Labrusse on Penone’s origins and the topography of the region that has so informed his work; an essay by Emily Braun on Penone’s work in relation to the field of ecocriticism; and an essay by Salvatore Settis, who draws Penone’s work into dialogue with classical and preclassical history.

The second component comprises a series of twelve individual booklets exploring the core themes and interests of Penone’s oeuvre. Eleven new texts by longtime Penone scholar and collaborator Daniela Lancioni investigate the organizing principles within the artist’s practice. Each individual booklet deals with one of the eleven “typologies” of his work, from “ideas of stone” to “breath.” Each text, including an introductory booklet, has an original drawing by the artist on its cover.