Her Excellency the Chairperson of Qatar Museums (QM) Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani Monday opened Giuseppe Penone: The Inner Flow of Life, a major survey exploring Penone’s enduring interest in the synergies between artistic and natural processes, at the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ).
The exhibition, co-curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine, and Issa al-Shirawi, Head of International Exhibitions, Qatar Museums, presents 25 artworks made between 1970 and 2026, revealing the Italian artist’s sustained fascination with the forces that shape both the natural world and the human body.
The exhibition brings together works from early in Penone’s career, including Rovesciare i propri occhi (Reversing One’s Eyes) (1970), with those created just this year, such as Vene di bronzo (Bronze Veins) (2026), to trace how the artist has articulated themes such as touch, growth, pressure, memory, and transformation.
In addition, Qatar Museums will install a new public sculpture by the artist, Idee di Pietra, at the Old Doha Port.
Giuseppe Penone: The Inner Flow of Life is organised across five custom-built pavilions in NMoQ’s Baraha, each dedicated to a material that has been at the centre of Penone’s practice (leaves, porcelain, thorns, marble, and leather). Putting works from different periods in conversation, the exhibition includes sculptures, drawings, installations, photographs, and moving-image works to reveal Penone’s continued attention to the physical qualities of matter and to the marks produced by the human body upon its surroundings.
Issa al-Shirawi, co-curator of the exhibition and Head of International Exhibitions at Qatar Museums, said: “It is an honour to open Giuseppe Penone: The Inner Flow of Life, a milestone exhibition for the Mena region that brings Penone’s practice to audiences here for the first time.”
Presented as part of the Qatar Creates Fall/Winter 2026-27 season, Giuseppe Penone: The Inner Flow of Life joins a wider programme of exhibitions and events that reflect Qatar’s ongoing commitment to cultural exchange, creative dialogue, and global connection.
