Beginnings are magical.

The work of Giuseppe Penone is the only possible beginning to announce the
birth of Vuslat Foundation, whose mission is to enhance generous listening,
listening which engages the heart as well as the mind.

The Listener is a monumental installation by leading artist Giuseppe Penone
presented as a Special Event at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition - La
Biennale di Venezia, curated by Hashim Sarkis, running from 22 May to 21 November 2021.

Responding to the theme of the Biennale Architettura 2021, How will we live
together?, Vuslat Foundation’s presentation, curated by Chus Martínez, opens a
global conversation about how we can create spaces for listening in 21 st century
society. The Listener presents Giuseppe Penone’s Idee di Pietra - Olmo
(Ideas of Stone - Elm), a new edition of Penone’s widely celebrated series, an
installation of an elm tree cradling a heavy stone between its branches,
representing a symbolic prompt of the potential generous listener within each of us.

Why a tree? Because the tree holds the wisdom of listening as it has listened
to the earth and all living beings for centuries. The Listener thus is an
invitation to a moment of reflection on the vitality and magic of what
listening— to ourselves, to others and to nature— can bring to our inner and
outer worlds.

The work marks the launch of Vuslat Foundation as it conveys the
foundation's vision to make the quality of our connections an indispensable
piece in solving the world's vast and intertwined problems. Established in
2020, Vuslat Foundation endeavors to create awareness about and spread
the skill of generous listening—hearing beyond words— to oneself, to others
and to nature as the essential element of all our connections.

Giuseppe Penone
Idee di Pietra - Olmo, 2008
Installation for Venice Architecture Biennial, 2021
Bronze, river stone, water
847 × 280 × 170 cm