L'impronta del disegno, Anulare destro (The Imprint of Drawing, Right Ring Finger)

Though Penone is best known as a sculptor who began his career as a member of the Arte Povera group in Italy in the late 1960s, drawing has always been at the core of his practice. This is one of ten drawings---one for each finger---in which Penone extended each line of his fingerprint (at center) into a concentric pattern that eventually filled most of the sheet. The choice of a paper with a rough grain and the necessity of maintaining the spacing between the lines lend the gesture a tension that, as the artist said, "gives a necessity to the line." The final image resembles the growth rings of an ancient tree---a beautiful visualization of the fusion of man and nature that is central to Penone's art.