Essere Fiume 7 (Being the River 7) 2000

Giuseppe Penone, born in 1947, created ‘Essere Fiume 7’ (Being the River 7), with river stones, as part of the Arte Povera movement in Italy in the late 1960s. Arte Povera sought to challenge the commercialized art world by using simple, everyday materials, emphasizing process and nature's role. Penone's work explores the intimate connection between humans and nature, reflecting his upbringing in a rural area of Italy. His art delves into themes of time, growth, and the transformative power of natural processes. The stones, shaped by the relentless flow of water over millennia, evoke a sense of time and history. Penone’s intervention highlights the stone's inherent beauty and natural transformation. In his words, “The work attempts to highlight the naturalness of the stone, its potential for transformation and life." The Arte Povera movement, born from socio-political upheaval, sought to disrupt traditional art values. Through ‘Essere Fiume 7’, Penone invites us to reflect on our place within the natural world, the passage of time, and the beauty of simple materials, connecting us to the earth's ancient rhythms and reminding us of our shared history.