Untitled (Campi, Pappagallo, Cotoniera), 1967.
Jannis Kounellis was a Greek-born artist who represented a cornerstone of the Italian Arte Povera movement. Making use of only the most humble materials and found objects, his sculptures and installations communicated counter statements to the values of high art and the corporate world.
Tragedia Civile, 1975.
Dodecafonia, 2016.
What would be the best way to set out on a journey: a camel or a boat? As we all know, in both cases, one looks at the sky toward the constellation of the Ursa Minor to chart the path to the final goal. For me, the way of the sea is far more natural for reaching the destination, be it near or far, propelled forward by the desire of having a dialogue in a language invented there and then, but never forgetting its roots, buried beneath a heap of stones in the textile factory abandoned in the winter of 1907.
—Jannis Kounellis, Rome, August 2016