Jannis Kounellis

Jannis Kounellis (born in Piraeus, Greece, on March 23, 1936, died in Rome, Italy, on February 16, 2017) was a Greek-born Italian artist. In 1956, he moved to Rome and studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti. He began his art career in 1960 with his first solo exhibition, "L'alfabeto di Kounellis," held at Galleria La Tartaruga. Kounellis became one of the leading figures of the Arte Povera movement, defined by art critic Germano Celant in 1967. This movement aimed to create artworks using everyday and "poor" materials, moving art beyond traditional mediums. Kounellis frequently used materials such as live animals, coal, steel, stone, and coffee in his works. His installation in 1969 at Galleria L'Attico in Rome, featuring 12 live horses in the gallery, garnered significant attention. Throughout his career, the artist participated in numerous important exhibitions in Europe and America. His works are included in the collections of prestigious institutions such as Tate Modern (London), the Guggenheim Museum (New York), and Centre Pompidou (Paris). Kounellis aimed to offer viewers different experiences by combining industrial and natural elements of modern life in his art.