The work of Jannis Kounellis seems to openly defy the popular opinion about art, often leaving defined categories in its powerful wake. The diversity of his attempts to broaden the horizons of Expressionism contribute to the development of a genre which is, despite his well-known links to Arte Povera, clearly all his own. Typically, Kounellis makes use of materials which are alien to the field of arts in a classical sense. Raw elements like iron, gold and coal are combined with industrially produced objects. One finds that these unpredictable but simple materials have the ability to evoke sensations of temperature and touch, in addition to more complex connotations based on the viewers' personal experiences. The direct relationship between Kounellis' work and the surrounding space is a topic central to his installations.
Taking into consideration any pre-existing conditions, he allows the exhibition environment to be a part of the compositions. As for the work itself, by combining organic with industrial, permanent with transient, and light with heavy materials, Kounellis' creations are full of allusions which cannot be easily interpreted. Rather than offering pedantic narratives, he successfully creates impulses of thought for the observer. Thus, while walking through one of his thoughtfully-constructed exhibitions, one becomes gradually aware of the complexity of his references. Jannis Kounellis was born in 1936 in Piräus in the near of Athens, Greece. In 1956, he moved to Rome where he worked and lived until his death in 2017.
Publications
Exhibitions
Larkin Erdmann, Zurich, Switzerland
Fondazione Prada, Venice, Italy
Museum Küppersmuhle, Duisburg, Germany
Carolina Nitsch Project Room, London, UK
Centro de arte Wilfredo Lam, Havana, Cuba
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France
Monnaie de Paris, Paris, France
The Negev Museum of Art, Be’er Sheva, Israel
Galleria Christian Stein, Milan, Pero, Italy
Palazzo Vignola, Todi, Italy
Sprovieri, London, UK
Salone degli Incanti, Trieste, Italy
Mestna Galerija, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Cheim & Read, New York, NY, USA
Parasol unit, London, UK
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough, UK
Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
Artist Rooms, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece
Galleria Giorgio Persano, Turin, Italy
Museum am Dom, Würzburg, Germany
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough, UK
Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece
Kunstmuseum Kloster unser lieben Frauen Magdeburg, Germany
Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin, Ireland
Galleria Giorgio Persano, Turin, Italy
Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
Museum Kurhaus, Kleve, Germany
Galerie Lelong, Paris, France
Galerie Lelong, Zurich, Switzerland
Galeria Hilario Galguera, Leipzig, Germany
Galerie Lelong, Paris, France
in cooperation with Marino Gallery,China
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France
Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany
National Center For Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Museum am Dom, Würzburg, Germany
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Koblumba Museum, Cologne, Germany
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy
Italian Pavillon, 56th International Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
K20 Grabbeplatz, Düsseldorf, Germany
Marta Herford, Herford, Germany
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
ZKM - Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe, Germany
Centre d’art contemporain d’Ivry- le Credac, Ivry sur Seine, France
Neues Museum Weimar, Weimar, Germany
Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France
Bornholms Kunstmuseum, Gudhjem, Denmark
Galleria Centro Steccata, Parma, Italy
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands
Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India
Mona - Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Australia
NUOVA GALLERIA MORONE, Milan, Italy
Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, Italie
GAMeC - Galleria d´Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Beaufort Triennale, Oostende, Belgium
Kolumba, Cologne, Germany
Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Museo Guggenheim de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo, Bilbao, Spain
Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal, Germany
The Museum Per Se, Guangdong, China
Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany
Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany
MAMbo - Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, Italy
MAXXI - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome, Italy
La Triennale di Milano, Design Museum, Milan, Italy
Essl Museum - Kunst der Gegenwart, Klosterneuburg, Germany
Marta Herford, Herford, Germany
Leopold Hoesch Museum, Düren, Germany
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, Léon, Spain
MAMbo - Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
La Triennale di Milano, Design Museum, Milan, Italy
Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz, Austria
Sala Pelaires, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (GNAM), Rome, Italy
Galleria Il Ponte, Florence, Italy
Museo Guggenheim de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo, Bilbao, Spain
Fundación Marcelino Botín, Santander, Spain
Les Abattoirs de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
Hessel Museum of Art & Center for Curatorial Studies Galleries at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA
Museo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Museum am Dom, Würzburg, Germany
Galleria d'Arte Moderna Raccolta Lercaro, Bologna, Italy
Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece
Museo Fortuny, Venice, Italy