Jannis Kounellis

This work belongs to the Alfabeti series, which began shortly after Jannis
Kounellis developed works inspired by urban signage. Influenced by his
experiences in Rome's everyday life, these combinations of letters, numbers,
and symbols represented the personal language of the artist. Using various
types of paper, Kounellis applies these symbols with stencils and eliminates
the traces of the "artist's hand”. Among his many explorations of language and material, this work presents
bold black symbols with tempera on paper. The choice of paper is not
arbitrary, it is introducing a subtle tension between material and form. Another
crucial feature of these works is their size: 70 x 100 cm, the standard format
for Italian drawing paper. This dimension is not incidental but reflects
Kounellis’ deep understanding of materiality and format, becoming iconic
within his practice. These works encapsulate the Artist’s mastery of contrast, unique and distinct
within his oeuvre; not just between black and the pale ground, but between
solidity and vulnerability, assertion and silence. They remind us that his
exploration of language was never just about the mark itself, but about the
tension between the mark and the world it inhabits, “a whisper rather than a
declaration, yet one that resonates with equal intensity”.