Ugo Rondinone’s work is renowned for its contemplative, wistful and often melancholic mood. Language plays a central role, often in the form of lengthy and evocative titles. In the ‘Poems’ series of woodcut prints, the short texts written by the artist are reminiscent of either haiku (the style of Japanese poetry notable for its economy of expression) or pop song lyrics in their condensed phrasing and rhythm. Carved by hand in an intentionally crude script, they resemble the intimate messages inscribed into tree trunks. Trees are a recurring subject in Rondinone’s practice and the plywood sheets that he carved into were specially selected for their visible wood grain pattern. In the manner of concrete poetry, he employs the text for its shape and formal qualities, as much as for its meaning and sound. (Emerging in the 1950s, concrete poetry was embraced by a wide range of avant-garde artists associated with movements such as Lettrism and Fluxus.)