Jannis Kounellis: Gray is the Color of Our Time

Take a look behind Greek artist Jannis Kounellis’ raw and powerful work: “There’s no distance between me and the dialogue established years ago, which sees man as the centre. That’s what compels me to create art all the time, every day.”
Known for using raw and untraditional materials, such as wool, stone and metal, Kounellis nonetheless considers his artwork to be similar to painting. The canvas has simply been replaced with material which - unlike canvas - polarizes the space: “It determines the space. It determines it and then polarizes it.”
The fragmentation and alienation of contemporary society is something which Kounellis is concerned with and confronts in his artwork by introducing elements of traditional culture: “I don’t think we are in a Belle Époque now. It’s another time of construction, a dramatic time of hope.” There’s a distance between globalism and internationalism, and while he sees the first as leading to “creative nonsense,” he considers the latter to spring from “cultures deeply rooted in men’s minds.”
A great admirer of Picasso, Kounellis sees himself as a child of the transformation from Impressionism to Cubism: “For me, atmosphere is something static. Cubism removes the atmosphere and as a result embraces classicism because it removes the atmosphere. Everything returns to the interior and the greys, the ochres, are interior colours and the Impressionist colours are gone.”
Jannis Kounellis (b. 1936) is a Greek painter, performance artist and sculptor. He studied art in Athens until 1956 and then moved to Italy, where he still resides. From 1967 Kounellis became associated with Arte Povera (literally poor art), and his work was characterised by the juxtaposition of objects, materials and actions that were both physically and culturally opposed to one another. These included raw materials such as stone, cotton, wool and coal, as well as objets trouvés like bed-frames, doors and shelves. He has participated in many international exhibitions, including the Biennale of Paris, documenta, the Venice Biennale and the Biennale of Sydney. His work has also been exhibited in venues such as the Kunstmuseum in Bern, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris, the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid and The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
Jannis Kounellis was interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner in February 2015.
Camera: Jakob Solbakken
Edited by: Kamilla Bruus
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2015
Supported by Nordea-fonden

[@alexanderson3837]

Loved his atmosphere!

[@amarlimboo2484]

It's beautiful conversation. I love it.❣️

[@anna-rosestefatou1884]

εξαιρετικός καλλιτέχνης

[@emitch9213]

I look at 'the Greek letters' of your statement. I always loved 'the Greek letters' as an ART FORM. I needed to find translation to your Greek comment. I am simply amazed to 'the Greek letters' this day.

[@jhb61249]

This man died in 2017, 2 yrs after this video was recorded in 2015. I remember moving to NYC in the 1980s at the time it was being said the painting/art is dead, and fashion designers were thriving producing clothes in multiple shades of gray. Artist either stopped working or were working with low chroma/grey. This first 20 years of this century has had a certain grey cloud hanging constantly.

[@edwardwhittaker5728]

Great artist.

[@lisengel2498]

The art seems very contemplative and et also seems somehow to be about stillness, the space as rythms of lines - i wonderedwhy inside should be better than outside since to me “Everything can inspire a work of art - its all about experience as ways of being present and as doors to the breath of life.” It is en experience of significance and ways to express that something is observed - and that you can make it special if you give awareness. And as such the human mind is what its anout.

[@suzannedesylva3805]

Beauiful...

[@Acquavallo]

His art is amazing, and he has so many insightful things to say. But the way he speaks just puts me to sleep every time. It took me like three tries to watch his talk to try to get all his knowledge.

[@jamesbearden5257]

Acquavallo Hddhdj

[@liverpoolvseverybody3257]

Well go listen to David Hockney. Foh!

[@anniecasaer721]

Heel interessant!

[@darylcumming7119]

😊.

[@albertoballocca]

'Is not a big deal, to see it rust over years' is a wrong translation of what this master is talking about. He is saying 'It s not bad to see it getting rusty over years'. The exact opposite.

[@bobsmith3931]

Wow, stuff hangs down. I think they call that GRAVITY. I’m going to do an exhibit on water being wet.

[@chewingstring]

Grandpa, you know better. Never discuss or attempt to describe your work, no matter how hard they push or admire you.

[@liverpoolvseverybody3257]

Facts! Best Comment I’ve read so far on this video

[@higgsmerino3925]

@@liverpoolvseverybody3257 And we still love the work. (if it is possible to love inanimate objects?)

[@mayaayana2606]

youre so disrespectful

[@ertrtrttrtretrt7342]

I am Greek and was like wait he is speaking Italian lmao but he said some Greek words like drawing lol.

[@robertspies4695]

I like the work, but I had a devil of a time understanding much of what he was saying. There were real words used but often they did not seem to convey much to me. Perhaps much was lost in translation. Maybe it is like some poetry where you have to imagine what is between the words.

[@lara6944]

i blame it mainly on the editors that decided by removing the questions, which made his answers float in the air.

[@Emmbedd]

It’s mostly his way of talking; he stops while he speaks as he suppose the listener understood; it’s a very Italian way and hard to translate on the fly

[@TheKarlgiovanni]

Look out in the ciry streets then everything is grey

[@MyDenis0]

non esiste dialogho ma solo chiacchere se siamo tutti di base uguali o identici. Viviamo in un epoca di chiacchere. Non esiste la verita ma solo accertamento e confermazione se siamo tutti d'accordo.

[@albertoballocca]

Potenza Greca. Ho capito fino in fondo cosa si intende, perché in fondo sono un greco

[@latetodagame1892]

This guy needs to go back to art school!

[@valmontina]

actually you need

[@johnmekites7701]

HIs works are weak.