As I'm in the middle of a long writing process, a wonderful journey, source of many satisfactions, and snowballing discoveries, it is a pleasure to come across this piece of art from Italian artist Giancarlo Neri.

Lo Scrittore - Giancarlo Neri (The Writer)

"Giancarlo Neri is a sculptor born in Naples in 1955. At one time he played professional soccer for the New York Apollo of the American Soccer League. 

Perhaps his best-known work is The Writer, a 9-metre-high table and chair made from steel plated with wood, a piece about writer's block. It has been exhibited in Rome and on Hampstead Heath in London in 2005".

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Here is more about the piece from a BBC article:

A table and chair the size of a house have been captivating visitors to north London's Hampstead Heath.

The 30ft (9m) sculpture, The Writer, will be on Parliament Hill for four months before returning to Italy.

The tribute to the loneliness of writing is meant to inspire visitors to the heath, which has associations with writers Keats and Coleridge.

Leslie Mare, from the Corporation of London which runs the heath, said: "People seem to love it or hate it".

Giancarlo Neri, who used to play soccer for New York Apollos in the seventies, chose the heath, one of London's most popular parks, after hearing of its artistic heritage.

The Naples-born artist used six tons of steel and 1,000lb of wood to create the giant sculpture.

He said he wants people to interact with it, using it as a picnic spot or using the legs as goal posts.
When it was on display in Rome two homeless people were said to have lived underneath it.
Ms Mare told BBC News: "People talk about it, look at it, some people have even graffiti'd on it but it's really engaged people.

"It's almost a reminder of the heath's hidden heroes, and hopefully will encourage new young budding artists and writers."

The sculpture will be officially unveiled at a party on the heath on Wednesday, during the first week of Art Fortnight London.

 It's almost a reminder of the heath's hidden heroes 

Leslie Mare
Corporation of London

Read on the BBC website: 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4117974.stm

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Here is an article in Italian too:

Quella volta che invase via Krupp, a Capri, con centinaia di lampadine accese. O quell’altra in cui piazzò un maxi cavallo galleggiante tra le acque del golfo di Napoli, di fronte Castel dell’Ovo. Oppure quando mise in mezzo al Parco di Villa Ada, a Roma, uno scrittoio e una seggiola alte quanto un palazzo. Giancarlo Neri, protagonista del terzo appuntamento napoletano dei Martedì Critici, è uno che ama confrontarsi con la natura degli spazi, sfruttandone caratteristiche, limiti, possibilità e condizioni. Una vocazione al confronto col reale che punta al coinvolgimento – spesso ironico – dello spettatore e che spinge verso la trasformazione radicale dei contesti.
Più che collocare un’opera in uno spazio, Neri la utilizza come generatore di alterazioni percettive, scegliendo principalmente la via dell’arte pubblica. In questa direzione vanno i suoi numerosi progetti in Italia e all’estero: da quello del Circo Massimo di Roma nel 2008, all’ultimo spettacolare intervento di Rio de Janeiro, nel gennaio 2012. Per chi non fosse a Napoli, martedì sera, c’è Artribune Television che documenta tutto. E nel frattempo guardatevi, sempre domani, il report dell’incontro con Betty Bee.

– Helga Marsala

28 febbraio 2012, ore 18Palazzo delle Arti Napoli, via dei Mille 60a cura di Alberto Dambruoso e Marco Tonelli

Link: http://www.artribune.com/2012/02/spazi-a-dismisura-d%E2%80%99artista-chiacchierando-di-public-art-a-napoli-per-i-martedi-critici-c%E2%80%99e-giancarlo-neri-e-intanto-batty-bee-arriva-su-artribune-television/

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Giancarlo's website:

http://www.giancarloneri.com/