Serpentine presents Thoughts in the Roots, the most comprehensive institutional exhibition of Giuseppe Penone presented in the UK. On view from 3 April to 7 September 2025, the exhibition will be staged at Serpentine South and extend beyond the gallery to feature sculptures in the Royal Parks.

Thoughts in the Roots showcases the artist’s continued interest in the relationship between humans and the natural world, featuring works that range from 1969 to today.

A leading figure in the Arte Povera movement, born in Italy in the 1960s, that celebrates the simplicity of natural materials and artistic techniques, Giuseppe Penone experiments with a wide range of materials including wood, iron, wax, bronze, terracotta, marble and plaster, bringing their individual physical qualities to the fore.

Since its launch in the 1970s, Serpentine has maintained a long-standing commitment to bringing art out of the traditional gallery context and into the surrounding landscape, offering an opportunity for artists to engage with the immediate environment of Kensington Gardens.

The exhibition embodies the key principles of Penone’s work, namely the synergy between artistic and natural process, and the poetic relationship between humans and the environment. Through a series of sculptures and installations, visitors will encounter the delicate yet powerful ways in which Penone reveals nature’s hidden structures, rhythms, and gestures.

Reflecting on the exhibition, Giuseppe Penone states: ‘‘All of my work is a trial to express my adherence and belonging to nature, and it is with this thought that I have chosen the works for the exhibition. The two paths that I have created—inside the gallery and outside of it, in the park—become two integrated gardens.’’

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Image: Giuseppe Penone, Albero folgorato (Thunderstruck Tree), 2012. Bronze and gold. ©Photo: George Darrell. Courtesy Giuseppe Penone and Serpentine and Giuseppe Penone, Alberi libro (Book Trees), 2017 and Respirare l’ombra (To Breathe the Shadow), 2000, installation view, Serpentine South. ©Photo: George Darrell. Courtesy Giuseppe Penone and Serpentine.