Jannis Kounellis, a painter and sculptor hailing from Greece and Italy, emerged as one of the pioneering figures of the Arte Povera movement. He passed away in Rome on the 16th of February, 2017.
Born in Piraeus, Greece in 1936, Kounellis experienced the devastation of the Second World War and the Greek Civil War before relocating to Rome in 1956 to study at the Academy of Fine Arts.
His artistic repertoire flourished exponentially throughout the 1960s, with Kounellis primarily exhibiting paintings from 1960 to 1966. He infused found objects, such as street signs, into his work, utilizing stenciled symbols that reflected the contemporary society he lived in – numbers, letters, and words. Moreover, he even incorporated his artworks into performances, often wearing them as garments. This fusion of painting, sculpture, and performance marked Kounellis’ departure from traditional art and solidified his significance in the development of Arte Povera.
In 1967, Kounellis showcased his work in the ‘Arte Povera – e IM Spazio’ exhibition at the La Bertesca Gallery in Genoa, curated by Germano Celant. This event cemented Kounellis’ association with Arte Povera, a movement that rejected conventional flat surfaces in favor of installations and performances. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Kounellis participated in numerous influential Arte Povera exhibitions, constantly introducing “found” materials – like bed frames, doorways, windows, and raw materials like wool and rope – into his art.
Kounellis devotedly continued to create and exhibit his work throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, with his pieces frequently showcased in prominent events like Documenta (1972, 1977, 1982), the Venice Biennale (1972, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1998, 1993, and 2011), Tate Modern Gallery in London, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. To this day, countless retrospectives have been held to celebrate Kounellis’ extensive body of work.
www.ftn-books.com has several Kounellis books now available.
