Jannis Kounellis

Gavin Brown’s enterprise presents a solo exhibition by Jannis Kounellis. The exhibition features historic works, alongside works from the last few years of the artist's life.

Born in Greece and arriving in Rome at age 20, Kounellis can be seen as a stand-in for European trauma – a man in exile wandering the world in the aftermath of war. Kounellis rejected the notion of a post-war society. To him, war and its trauma linger in the social psyche indefinitely. His work transcends any specific political moment, speaking instead to turmoil across borders and histories.

Jannis Kounellis (1936–2017) was born in Piraeus, Greece. The backdrops to his childhood were World War II and ten years of civil war in Greece. In 1956, he moved to Rome, where he spent the rest of his life. By 1960, he was an active member of the Arte Povera movement.

Kounellis's work has appeared in key, historical exhibitions as the first Arte Povera exhibition, Arte Povera, Galleria La Bertesca, Genova (1967); When attitudes become form, Kunsthalle di Berna (1969); Documenta 5 in Kassel, Germany (1972). His work has been feautured in solo exhibitions at several major institutions, including: Kunstmuseum in Bern (1977); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam (1977); Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1980); Whitechapel Art Gallery in London (1981); Musée d'Art Contemporain, Bordeaux, France (1985); The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, 1986; Musée d'Art Contemporain, Montreal, Canada (1987); Castello di Rivoli, Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli, Turin, Italy (1988) Jannis Kounellis: Via del Mare, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (1990); The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid (1996); Kounellis: Die Front, das Denken, der Sturm, Museum Ludwig in der Halle Kalk, Cologne, Germany (1997); Neue National Gallery in Berlin (2007); Monnaie de Paris (2016).