Born in Piraeus, Attica, but a naturalized Italian citizen, Jannis Kounellis enrolled in his early twenties at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, where he became acquainted with Informal Art and Abstract Expressionism, a combination that would form the basis of the artist’s path in later years. He made his debut in Rome in 1960 with his inaugural solo exhibition at La Tartaruga gallery, a venue where he would return to exhibit again in 1964 and 1966. By 1967, he began holding exhibitions aligned with the ideological tenets of the Arte Povera movement, of which Kounellis later emerged as a prominent figure. During these years, references to the artist’s Greek heritage were evident, alongside the incorporation of live animals juxtaposed with the geometric aesthetics of the settings, as well as the presence of fire and the utilization of industrial production-related devices.
In 1969, Kounellis took installation one step further by integrating it into live performance, notably with the Cavalli piece, affixed to the walls of Fabio Sargentini’s l’Attico gallery, where he initially showcased his work in 1967 and later returned throughout the 1970s. Throughout this decade, Kounellis exhibited consistently, with notable showcases including those at Galleria Gian Enzo Sperone in Turin (1971), Galerie Folker Skulima in Berlin (1971), Sonnabend Gallery in New York (1972), Galleria La Salita in Rome (1973), Galleria Forma in Genoa (1974), Galerie Rudolf Zwirner in Cologne (1975), Galerie Art in Progress in Düsseldorf (1976), Jean & Karen Bernier Gallery in Athens (1977), and the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen in Rotterdam (1977). Additionally, in 1972, Kounellis made his debut at the Venice Biennale, followed by his inaugural participation at the Quadriennale in Rome the following year. Starting in the 1970s and through the 1980s, the vibrant and determined fervor that Kounellis had infused into his creations gradually gave way to a newfound sense of disillusionment and frustration. This shift derived from an acknowledgment of the failure of the pioneering spirit of Arte Povera, inadvertently engulfed by the commercial forces of consumerism. This state of mind perhaps culminated in 1989 at the Fundacio Espai Poblenou in Barcelona, where Kounellis presented a piece featuring freshly butchered ox quarters affixed to metal plates with hooks, illuminated by oil lanterns.
In the 1990s and continuing into the 2000s, there was a revival in Kounellis’ original drive. Notably, there was a resurgence of a preference for grandiose expression. This was evident in installations such as Offertorio at Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples (1995), the Mulino in ferro in Piazza Ponte di Tappia, also in Naples (1998), and the 50th-anniversary monument of the Resistance in the courtyard of the central building of the University of Padua (1995). Simultaneously, significant exhibitions flourished in South America within a short period, including those in Mexico City (1999), Argentina (2000), and Uruguay (2001). In 2002, the installation Cavalliwas once again displayed at the Whitechapel in London. Concurrently, at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, the artist created a labyrinth in sheet metal, adorned with traditional elements of his art such as charcoal pits, cottonwoods, burlap sacks, and piles of stones.
In 2004, he conceived a new installation for the Accademia Gallery in Florence, commemorating the five hundredth anniversary of Michelangelo’s creation of the David. In 2007, he created the installation Con Mattia Preti at the National Gallery of Palazzo Arnone in Cosenza. Additionally, he undertook the design of the chariot of Santa Rosalia for the annual festal festival in Palermo and inaugurated the Door of the Monastic Garden at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome. In 2009, Galleria Fumagalli and the Adriano Bernareggi Museum in Bergamo respectively dedicated a solo exhibition and a site-specific installation to him. Furthermore, in 2012, one of his works was displayed at the Palazzo Riso Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Palermo.
Kounellis’ works are represented in numerous prestigious national and international collections. Among these, notable mentions include the Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci in Prato, the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina MADRE in Naples, MAXXI in Rome, the Roberto Casamonti Collection in Florence, MoMA in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Tate Modern in London.