Giovanni Anselmo, Jannis Kounellis, Giuseppe Penone, Emilio Prini
Recent Works

Preview 4 Dec, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
5 Dec 2012 - 23 Feb 2013

SPROVIERI
23 Heddon Street London W1B 4BQ

Sprovieri is delighted to present an exhibition of recent works by Giovanni Anselmo, Jannis Kounellis, Giuseppe Penone and Emilio Prini.

The selection of works brings together some of the most influential living artists of the Arte Povera, the Italian artistic movement that in the late 1960s explored art not only using ‘poor materials’ but also conceiving the image as a conscious action rather than a representation of ideas and concepts. Offering a contemporary transposition of their early subjects and practices, the exhibition reveals how these artists have continuously developed the energy and innovation of their poetics.

The work ‘Ultramarine Blue While It Appears Towards Overseas’ by Giovanni Anselmo - especially conceived for this exhibition - reflects the artist’s commitment to create a work which must be ‘the physification of the force behind an action, of the energy of a situation or event’. A deep and bright blue square made with acrylic painting will be outlined by the artist against the white wall of the gallery. "The term OLTREMARE (ULTRAMARINE) defines the blue colour which in the past was imported from overseas. The stimulus it can offer is not only visual but also mental, indicating a place beyond the walls of the gallery towards which both the work and the spectator turn. It is in any case a place that exists, because wherever you go there is always an overseas farther on."

Jannis Kounellis contributes to the exhibition with a powerful triptych work: three large sculptures comprising of steel panels, iron beams and tar imprints of an ordinary man coat. The triptych translates the tension and alienation of our contemporary society where modernisation and industrial development are inevitably put in dialogue with our individual and traditional values. 

Giuseppe Penone’s sculpture ‘Acero (Maple)’ 2005 is inspired by the search for an equal relationship between man and material. Intertwining man, nature and culture this work alludes to a deep time where everything - be it wood or a human body - is fluid and things coexist in a reciprocal action.

In ‘Emilio Prini / Da Fermacarte 1968’ the process of photography is revealed: a photograph illustrates the connection between organic - the artist’s body - and inorganic - the lead. Both these elements are subjected to the force of gravity.

Giovanni Anselmo - born 1934, Borgofranco d'Ivrea, Italy - lives and works in Turin and Stromboli. Anselmo has exhibited around the world and participated in the Venice Biennales of 1978, 1980 and 1990 as well as Documenta V (1972) and VII (1982). His work is part of major public collections such as MoMA, Tate Modern and Centre Pompidou among others.

Jannis Kounellis - born 1936, Piraeus, Greece - lives and works in Rome. Kounellis has exhibited all over the world and his work is part of major museum collections. His recent solo exhibitions include Parasol Unit, London (2012), mima, Middlesbrough (2012), Tramway, Glasgow (2012), Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens (2012), Today Art Museum, Beijing (2011), National Centre for Contemporary Art, Moscow (2011), Herning Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark (2009), Santiago de Compostela, Spain (2008), Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2007) and Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donna Regina, Naples (2006). Since 1972 Kounellis has taken part in seven editions of the Venice Biennale and two editions of Documenta (1972 and 1982).

Giuseppe Penone - born 1947, Cuneo, Italy - lives and works in Paris and Turin. Penone’s work is held in important collections internationally, including Tate, London and MoMA, New York. In 2012 Penone presented a large installation at Whitechapel, London. His recent solo exhibitions include Mac’s, Grand-Hornu, Belgium (2011), Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (2009), Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Toyota, Japan (2008), The Drawing Center, New York (2004), and a retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2004). His work was part of the Venice Biennial in 2007 as well as in Documenta V (1972), VII (1982), VIII (1987) and XIII (2012).

Emilio Prini - born 1943, Stresa, Italy - lives and works in Rome. His work was part of the group shows ‘Arte Povera’ - Neues Museum Weimar, and Kunstmuseum Basel (2012) - ‘Italics: Italian Art between Tradition and Revolution 1968–2008’ - MCA, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2009) and Palazzo Grassi, Venice, (2008) - ‘Zero to Infinity: Arte Povera 1962-1972’ - Tate Modern, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, (2001-2002). Prini partecipated to Documenta X (1997).