Dhalia by Beatrice Brandini

Jannis Kounellis Untitled, 1978, pencil on paper. Courtesy Christian Stein Gallery, Milan

At the Museo Novecento, from 15 March to 9 June, we can admire an icon of Arte Povera: Jannis Kounellis, with an extraordinary series of drawings created by the artist between 1973 and the Eighties.

Jannis Kounellis Untitled, 1980, ink and pencil on paper. Courtesy Christian Stein Gallery, Milan

The exhibition, under the artistic direction of Sergio Risaliti and curated by Dieter Schwarz, shows us a poetic and imaginative, evocative Kounellis, works that are the fruit of dreams and nightmares, of archaic memories and modern images.

Jannis Kounellis Untitled, 1980, ink and pencil on paper. Courtesy Gallery Michael Werner, Berlin, London and New York

Some of these drawings are linked to what will be his monumental installations, others are quick sketches, instant notes, therefore beautiful; an opportunity to admire a different aspect of Kounellis’ work.

Sergio Risaliti, director of the Museo Novecento, in press conference

There are more than one hundred works, created with ink, pencil and charcoal, exhibited in their entirety for the first time in 1990, during an exhibition curated by Rudi Fuchs entitled “The Vede Room”, at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in The Hague.

Jannis Kounellis Untitled, 1980, pencil, ink and ballpoint pen on paper. Courtesy Gallery Michael Werner, Berlin, London and New York

Jannis Kounellis Untitled, 1980, ink, charcoal and pencil on paper. Courtesy Gallery Michael Werner, Berlin, London and New York

It is beautiful how the Museo Novecento valorizes and proposes drawing as a technique, the closest to the artist since it is the initial idea, his project. In fact, the drawings were also protagonists in the exhibitions dedicated to Henry Moore, Tony Cragg and Jenny Saville.

Jannis Kounellis Untitled, 1980, pencil on paper. Courtesy Christian Stein Gallery, Milan

Jannis Kounellis Untitled, 1980, pencil on paper. Courtesy Gallery Michael Werner, Berlin, London and New York

The exhibition is also an opportunity for the artist to return home, in fact Kounellis had a humanistic connection with the city of Florence, a relationship born in the seventies; His performance at the Galleria Area in Florence in 1975 was very famous.

Sergio Risaliti and Alessia Bettini at the press conference

“In the 1960s they called me an artist because they didn’t know what to define a pile of coal. But I am a painter, I claim my initiation into painting…” Jannis Kounellis

“A journey into the creative world of Jannis Kounellis through a precious part of his drawings”. Alessia Bettini, deputy mayor and councilor for culture.

A wonderful image of Jannis Kounellis in his studio

Kounellis greatly influenced the art of the second half of the twentieth century, many contemporary artists looked at his work drawing inspiration and comparison, making the Greek artist one of the main protagonists of Arte Povera. A beautiful exhibition for those who love art but above all “poetry”.

Good life to everyone!

Beatrice