Swiss contemporary artist Ugo Rondinone has captured international attention at Art Basel Paris with multiple striking works, including a seven-meter-tall stone giant that now overlooks the Seine River and the Louvre. The monumental sculpture, titled "The Innocent," was recently installed on the square in front of the Institut de France, marking a significant honor for the artist who follows in the footsteps of renowned artists like Georg Baselitz, Sheila Hicks, and Niki de Saint Phalle who have previously exhibited in this prestigious location.

The massive stone figure, carved from rough stone and gazing toward Paris's iconic landmarks, has already resonated deeply with local residents. Parisians have spontaneously placed flowers, stuffed animals, and candles around the sculpture's base, creating an unexpected dialogue between art and community. This response particularly pleases Rondinone, as it demonstrates that his artistic vision has been understood by the public.

"The sculpture belongs to a group of works that I began in 2013, and they are named after emotions," Rondinone explained. "You wouldn't normally attribute feelings to a stone, but even a stone lives. It is the first material of the world, the bone of the world, what actually holds everything together." According to the artist, "The Innocent" represents humanity's history and innocence, qualities inevitably associated with children as our future and those born innocent into the world. He believes this connection explains why flowers and teddy bears have been spontaneously placed at the sculpture's base.

Rondinone's fascination with stone as an artistic medium traces back to his childhood experiences growing up in the Brunnen valley, surrounded by Swiss mountains, and frequent visits to Matera, Italy, his parents' birthplace, where the ancient cave dwellings fascinated him as a child. During his studies, he rediscovered his love for stones through German Romantic painters, particularly Caspar David Friedrich. "Every motif that I have used since 1981 connects to Romanticism," Rondinone notes. "The sun, the tree, the stars, the moon. So all these motifs that I use in my work are a direct reference to Romanticism."

When Rondinone began incorporating these romantic elements, the movement wasn't popular among art students. Artists like Jeff Koons were trending at the time, with their focus on consumerism and seduction. "But I wanted to turn that around, to create a connection to myself. That's how the first landscape came about," he reflected.

Under the glass dome of the Grand Palais, three colorful monumental sculptures immediately catch every visitor's eye during Art Basel Paris. These "Mountain" sculptures, which the artist first presented as a land art installation in the United States in 2016, appear to defy gravity with their luminous stacked boulders. At the booth of Galerie Eva Presenhuber, fair visitors crowd around the sculptures, children play among them, and anyone with a phone takes the obligatory selfie.

"We have many inquiries because people find the sculptures very attractive. In the last ten years, Ugo has firmly established himself, and museums and collectors see him as an artist with staying power," explains gallerist Eva Presenhuber. Even the current art market crisis seems to have no effect on Rondinone's success: by the second day of the fair, several works had already been sold to collectors.

Rondinone's stone works come in various forms and scales, from gigantic and colorful pieces like the Liverpool Mountain in front of the Tate Gallery in Liverpool, to the majestically gray "Steinmandli" on the roundabout in front of the village of Andermatt, to more manageable pieces like the Yellow Red Mountain that was auctioned at Sotheby's in 2021. Like his stone sculptures, Ugo Rondinone has proven his lasting power and demonstrates that he belongs among the greatest artists of our time.