Madison Square Park Conservancy’s free contemporary art program, Mad. Sq. Art, unveiled a new sculptural installation by renowned Italian artist Giuseppe Penone. The three 30-foot tall bronze trees titled Ideas of Triplice (Triple), Idee di pietra – 1303 Kg di luce (Ideas of stone – 1303 Kg of light), and Idee di pietra – Olmo (Ideas of stone -- Elm) complement Madison Square Park’s lush landscape and highlight the relationships between man, sculpture and nature.
Penone is known for his use of natural materials and forms in his artworks. A former member of the Italian Arte Povera group, which aimed to dissolve the divisions between art and life by using commonplace subjects and materials in their art, Penone often incorporates fingerprints, nails, wires and carvings into his sculptures. President of the Madison Square Park Conservancy, Debbie Landau, said, “With this, the Park’s twenty-sixth exhibition of outdoor sculpture, we are honored to present Giuseppe Penone, an esteemed artist of international stature. Penone’s work may be best known to European audiences, and the opportunity to display his towering bronze trees in New York is a tribute to his unique vision which complements the natural environment of the Park’s foliage as the seasons transition from fall to winter.”
Penone’s sculptures will remain on view daily through February 9, 2014.
