In 2020, the artist Giuseppe Penone (Garessio, 1947) donated more than 200 archival materials to the Castello di Rivoli, documenting and enabling the reconstruction of the artist’s ideation and creative process in relation to the works carried out for the outdoor space: drawings, working notes and handwritten reflections, preparatory sketches, design renderings, and installation photographs.
The corpus of these works and documents on paper relates to all the major permanent works located in the artist’s birthplace and territory of residence, namely that of Piedmont: the interactions with natural elements in the woods around Garessio (Alpi Marittime, 1968); the project Albero giardino (1998) for the Passante Ferroviario in Turin; the two environmental interventions carried out, curated by the Castello di Rivoli, for the Lower Park of the Reggia di Venaria, Giardino delle sculture fluide (2003-2007) and Anafora (in the two versions of 2016 and 2019); the sculpture In limine (2008) placed at the entrance of the GAM-Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Turin; the double tree in aluminum, bronze and mirror (Identity, 2017), placed in front of the Castello di Rivoli, which houses in its permanent collection five works by Penone, dating from 1969 to 2003.
At the Museum’s Manica Lunga is also permanently installed Svolgere la propria pelle – finestra, 1970–2019, the latest version of the work presented at documenta 5 (Kassel, 1972) and composed of an artist’s book and 19 photographic imprints of the artist’s body on glass plates, inside a showcase table.