Jannis Kounellis
Senza titolo, 2005
iron, drawing paper, h 537 cm
Defining Kounellis as a sculptor is difficult, given that his work has always been carried out in the name of painting, but it is not out of place, given that painting as a specific language has never been used by the artist. It would be better to call his works, all without titles, installations, because the artist's choice regarding the materials and their contribution to the space is expressed in a wide range and with total freedom. The work in the collection is designed specifically for the given space, in the sense that its size coincides with that of the architectural structure it inhabits: a long iron beam reaches the ceiling thanks to a stack of drawing paper placed on its top . The sheets fold downwards to form an elegant capital that stands out on the slender column. Each element is a condition of existence of the work, the space and the materials used, none would work without the contribution of the other. Iron often recurs in Kounellis' work, like the girder as an object that evokes constructiveness, while the drawing sheets, which appear in this solution for the first time, inevitably refer to the artist's activity. Designing, building, supporting and designing spaces are the actions and functions that are allusively united. As always in Kounellis the work stands out clearly, like a vision, simple in its technical realization and full of meaning.
from: Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro. La Collezione permanente, exhibition catalogue, edited by G. Verzotti, A. Vettese, Milano, Skira, 2007, p. 175.
