Verbier: Jannis Kounellis

Pablo’s Birthday Verbier is pleased to present Greek Italian artist Jannis Kounellis (b. 1936, Greece– D. 2017, Rome). Beginning as a painter, Kounellis is known for his work as a performance artist and sculptor associated with the Arte Povera movement– a movement dedicated to attacking the established norms of government, industry, and culture. Kounellis introduced found objects into his artworks, which came not only in the form of burlap sacks, bells, bed frames, knives, sewing machines, etc., but also the incorporation of gold, earth, fire, and even live animals.

This selection of works highlights Kounellis’s series Alfabeti which consists of overlapping letters and arrows that create dynamic and unpredictable compositions. Stencilled thickly onto a white background, the arrangement of the letters invokes a rhythm which appears to make the black marks float freely in their surrounding space. As if denoting the emergence of some new primitive language, these signs were also enacted by Kounellis himself in ritualistic performances. 

Born on March 23, 1936 in Piraeus, Greece, Kounellis went on to study art in Athens and then at the Accademia de Bella Arti in Rome. His practice has been showcased globally at renowned institutions such as the Tate Modern in London and the  Fondazione Prada in Venice as well as Documenta and several installations at the Venice Biennale from 1972 to 2011 lending to his invaluable contribution to contemporary art discourse.