Jannis Kounellis

In his first one-person exhibition in the UK in over ten years, Italian artist Jannis Kounellis presents a unique installation of new and earlier works, specially conceived for the gallery spaces at Modern Art Oxford.

A major figure in contemporary art for over forty years, Jannis Kounellis played a central role in the Arte Povera (literally poor art) movement of the 1960s, redefining sculptural practice with his radical and highly original sculptures, performances and installations.

Poetic and deeply stirring, his carefully staged installations evoke shared experiences of people, places and history. Sacks of coal, sheet steel, Victorian gas lamps and unspun cotton are among his materials, together with elements from the natural world such as fire, earth and organic matter. His interventions in historic spaces, such as his stunningly beautiful installation throughout the working monastery of San Lazzaro in Venice in 2003, or his installation created for the bombed interior of the National Library, Sarajevo in 2004, reveal his ability to respond with great sensitivity to a given site.

At Modern Art Oxford, Kounellis presents a compelling new work for the Upper Gallery together with a dramatic presentation of sculptures and interventions dating from the 1960s to the present.

Jannis Kounellis has been made possible by a generous bequest from the Estate of the late Tom Bendhem, a Patron of the Gallery. Also supported by The Henry Moore Foundation, The Italian Cultural Institute, The Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation and the Friends and Patrons of Modern Art Oxford.

A fully illustrated publication with new essays by writer and curator Rudi Fuchs and Art Historian Adachiara Zevi, and an introduction by Suzanne Cotter and Andrew Nairne, accompanies the exhibition.

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Jannis Kounellis