BOOK:Kounellis,Hatje Cantz Publications

Jannis Kounellis (Piraeus 23/3/36-Rome 16/2/17) is one of the major figures of Arte Povera. Today he looks back at a career spanning more than fifty years in which his idiosyncratic works of art have left a lasting impact on contemporary art history. Kounellis started by producing small paintings, but later he concentrated on his elegiac installations. He is known for his in-depth knowledge of the various materials which he combines with great pleasure. Gas flames, trails of smoke, steel, iron, lead, glass, coal, cotton, coffee grinds, or textiles intermingle with equal importance. Through the use of these materials, Kounellis continues to renegotiate fundamental principles of life: temporality, endurance, development and decay. With 204 pages,104 illustrations and texts by: Bruno Corà, Carlos Lozano de la Torre, Dulce María Rivas Godoy and  Hilario Galguera, the book “Kounellis” by Hatje Cantz is the latest monograph that deals with Kounellis’ works from early 2016 and extensively illustrates the exhibition “Relámpagos sobre México” that literally translates as “Lighting Bolts Over Mexico”. The works were produced specifically for the: 6,000 square meters of the two main galleries within MECA (Macro Espacio para la Cultura y las Artes), a former railroad service workshop, where he employed objects belonging to the workers of the former train workshop. By doing so, Kounellis created passages of visual poetry aiming to dignify the working class and reinvigorate a spirit of the revolution.-Efi Michalarou