“My artwork shows, with the language of sculpture, the essence of matter and tries to reveal with the work, the hidden life within.” — Giuseppe Penone

Giuseppe Penone: The Hidden Life Within is the first fully illustrated monograph in English on the work of the Italian Arte Povera artist Giuseppe Penone. Using simple materials from everyday life to unsettle the boundaries between art and nature, Penone explores the mysteries of time and our existence, our relationship with nature, and the interdependence among all organic life forms.

Featuring full-page reproductions of Penone’s work and four major essays by leading artists and critics, the volume includes an essay by the founder of the Arte Povera movement Germano Celant, which contextualizes Penone’s work within the art scene at the time, and an interview with the artist by Matthew Teitelbaum, the former director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario, providing a uniquely personal view of the work Penone has created. Rounding out the volume are essays by art critic Didier Semin and the late John Bentley Mays.