Untitled, 2000
Iron plates, iron shelves, burlap sacks, coal, coats, shoes, steel, ropes
ΕΜΣΤ Collection
Presented as part of the D.Daskalopoulos Collection Gift
This work was created the year ΕΜΣΤ first opened to the public, and thus carries particular symbolic significance. It is made of iron plates, iron shelves, burlap sacks, coal, coats, shoes, steel, and ropes—humble, everyday objects and materials that underscore Kounellis’s connection to Arte Povera (i.e. Poor Art), the groundbreaking artistic movement that flourished in Italy in the late 1960s and challenged the precious, commodified, and inaccessible nature of art, of which Kounellis was a leading exponent. Through the use of these “poor” natural materials the artist connects art with life, highlighting their historical or sociopolitical symbolism. The burlap sacks allude to the commercial goods transported through port cities such as Piraeus, the artist’s birthplace.
More specifically, coffee—a recurring material in the artist’s practice—is referenced through trade sacks bearing the inscription “Brasil”. The heady aroma of coffee emanating from these works engages the viewer in a sensory experience that goes beyond vision. Smell is a key element in Kounellis’s work, which often explores the human condition. The sense of smell is also deployed to undermine the primacy of sight as the foundation of rationalism. Jannis Kounellis was without doubt an exceptionally important figure in postwar art. In his work, he explores alienation within contemporary societies by juxtaposing materials of mass urban and industrial culture with symbols and values of the pre-industrial world. Kounellis created sculptures and installations from everyday objects and materials, such as iron, coal, wool, fire, wood, and stones, highlighting their sculptural qualities to explore the primordial nature of things and gauge their cultural depth.
Jannis Kounellis was born in Piraeus in 1936 and died in Rome—where he had lived since the age of 20—in 2017. He was a leading figure of the Arte Povera movement and had a profound influence on both Greek and European art.
