Untitled from 1999

Born in 1936 in Piraeus, Greece, Jannis Kounellis considers himself to be “a Greek person but an Italian artist." He moved to Italy in 1956 and studied at the ‘Academia di Belle Arti’ in Rome, where he has his first solo show, titled L’alfabeto di Kounellis, at the Galleria la Tartaruga, Rome, in 1960. Influenced by Alberto Burri and Lucio Fontana, whose work provided an alternative to the expressive nature of Art Informel, Kounellis sought to redefine the boundaries of painting. His approach gradually shifted towards a more sculptural direction, incorporating found objects into his canvases by 1963. After a two-year break from painting, he emerged in 1967 as a significant figure in the nascent ‘Arte Povera’ movement, where his art evolved into a fusion of painting, sculpture, collage, and installation. Characterized by the unconventional combination of disparate materials, such as soil, stones, sacks, fire, live animals, bed frames, and doorways, Kounellis's work challenges traditional notions of painting and gallery space, pushing the boundaries of artistic expression.

Rome, Italy