Untitled

Jannis Kounellis’s works often convey a strong sense of the past, of universal cultural heritage, and personal memory. In this untitled work, an arrangement of books, blankets, and lamps on shelves suggest an attachment to the past. Books represent knowledge and culture; oil lamps symbolize enlightenment and revelation.

Despite his Greek nationality and experimentation with sculpture, Kounellis identified as an Italian painter. He transformed three-dimensional objects by placing them on flat surfaces hung on the wall, like paintings.