Justin Peyser

Permanent installation for the “ideal city” of Pienza near Siena, Italy .

Sculptural Benches leading from the cathedral of Pienza to the parish church outside the walls. Assembling a team of diverse artists to design a group of sculptural benches of the same material was the idea of the Sienese artist Mauro Berrettini. The inspiration was to return to artists the responsibility for designing public spaces rather than relegate that role to engineers and architects only. Thus, in a magnificent exercise in understatement, each artist has contributed a humble park bench, which is also a sculpture. The result is congenial to people’s use, where medieval plaza-building, artisanal working of local stone, and contemporary art intersect.  The project involves 28 sculptural benches arranged along a path leading from the cathedral to the parish church outside the walls of Pienza and overlooking the breathtaking Val d’Orcia. The artworks are made of Sienese travertine limestone by a group of internationally renown artists: Marcello Aitiani, Mauro Berettini, Rinaldo Bigi, Nado Canuti, Jacopo Cascella, Pietro Cascella, Sandro Chia, Giralomo Ciulla, Daniel Courvreur, Mirella Forlivesi, Riccardo Grazzi, Justin Peyser, Jean Paul Phillipe , Giò Pomodoro, Enzo Scatragli, Matthew Spender, Viliano Tarabella, Joe Tilson, Venturino Venturi, Cordelia Von Den Steinen and Kan Yasuda. Prior versions of the project were exhibited at the Triennale of Milan (1997, L’arte nella citta: il sedile in pietra) and in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence (2000) and have been installed permanently in the Tuscan towns of Castel San Niccolò (Arezzo) and Pontedera (Pisa). This current group of artworks come from the travertine quarries of Serre di Rapolano (Siena) and made under the direction of Riccardo Grazzi.