Summary
Much of Penone's work in the 1970s explored the nature of skin as a container of his body separating him from his environment. Other works made during this period investigated the mark-making potential of the sculptor's hand and skin on his creative materials. His Breath sculptures of 1978 (see Tate T03420) and their accompanying drawings combine these two interests. They are large, terracotta, pot-like forms bearing the imprint of the artist's body, beginning from his open mouth at the top and bulging out, following the lines of torso and legs, to a bulbous base. They bring together the two ingredients from which man is made in the Biblical myth of creation: clay and (divine) breath, and represent the immaterial in solid, three-dimensional form… (read more)
Other works of art you may be interested in
