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
The Negev Museum of Art, Be’er Sheva, Israel
Centro de arte Wilfredo Lam, Havana, Cuba
Monnaie de Paris, Paris, France
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France
Galleria Christian Stein, Milan, Pero, Italy
Palazzo Vignola, Todi, Italy
Sprovieri, London, UK
Mestna Galerija, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Cheim & Read, New York, NY, USA
Salone degli Incanti, Trieste, Italy
Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin, Ireland
Galleria Giorgio Persano, Turin, Italy
Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece
Kunstmuseum Kloster unser lieben Frauen Magdeburg, Germany
Artist Rooms, Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Parasol unit, London, UK
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough, UK
Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece
Galleria Giorgio Persano, Turin, Italy
Blain Southern, Berlin, Germany
Museum am Dom, Würzburg, Germany
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough, UK
National Center For Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
Galerie Lelong, Zurich, Switzerland
Galeria Hilario Galguera, Leipzig, Germany
Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany
Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France
Today Art Museum, Beijing, China
Museum am Dom, Würzburg, Germany
Museum Kurhaus, Kleve, Germany
Galerie Lelong, Paris, France
in cooperation with Marino Gallery,China
Galerie Lelong, Paris, France
Haus Lange & Haus Esters Museum, Krefeld, Germany
The Menil Collection, Museum District, Houston, TX, USA
Centro Botín, Santander, Spain
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Herning, Denmark
Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY, USA
Rochechouart Museum of Contemporary Art, Rochechouart, France
MAMC Saint-Étienne, Saint-Priest-en-Jarez, France
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Fondation Boghossian, Brussels, Belgium
Koblumba Museum, Cologne, Germany
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Galerie Karsten Greve AG, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Italian Pavillon, 56th International Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy
K20 Grabbeplatz, Düsseldorf, Germany
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands
Galleria Centro Steccata, Parma, Italy
Marta Herford, Herford, Germany
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi, India
Museo Guggenheim de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo, Bilbao, Spain
Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Kolumba, Cologne, Germany
Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France
Mona - Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Australia
Bornholms Kunstmuseum, Gudhjem, Denmark
ZKM - Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe, Germany
Centre d’art contemporain d’Ivry- le Credac, Ivry sur Seine, France
NUOVA GALLERIA MORONE, Milan, Italy
Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Neues Museum Weimar, Weimar, Germany
Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, Italie
GAMeC - Galleria d´Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo, Italy
Beaufort Triennale, Oostende, Belgium
Lentos Kunstmuseum, Linz, Austria
Von der Heydt Museum, Wuppertal, Germany
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Museum am Dom, Würzburg, Germany
Hessel Museum of Art & Center for Curatorial Studies Galleries at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, USA
Les Abattoirs de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece
Galleria d'Arte Moderna Raccolta Lercaro, Bologna, Italy
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, Léon, Spain
Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (GNAM), Rome, Italy
Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany
Marta Herford, Herford, Germany
La Triennale di Milano, Design Museum, Milan, Italy
MAXXI - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome, Italy
MAMbo - Galleria d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, Italy
Museo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, Germany
Galleria Il Ponte, Florence, Italy
Sonnabend Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Museo Guggenheim de Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo, Bilbao, Spain
La Triennale di Milano, Design Museum, Milan, Italy
Essl Museum - Kunst der Gegenwart, Klosterneuburg, Germany
Leopold Hoesch Museum, Düren, Germany
MAMbo - Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
The Museum Per Se, Guangdong, China
Fundación Marcelino Botín, Santander, Spain
Museo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
Sala Pelaires, Palma de Mallorca, Spain