Untitled

Untitled was Kounellis's contribution to the 1988 Venice Biennale, where it was exhibited in a room by itself in the Italian pavilion. The piece comprises a row of identical metal plates—each roughly the size of a bed, evoking a corporeal presence —mounted high on the wall. On each of these panels, six sacks of coal are held in place by the pressure of I-beams. In a combination that is typical of Kounellis's work, the modular repetition of the units and their hard industrial forms—redolent of American Minimalism—are counterposed with the irregular, lumpy sacks and the organic matter that they contain. Untitled reflects the artist's long-standing interest in coal, a residue of earthly energy intimately tied to fire and suggestive of the potential for transformation and change. Kounellis has also spoken of this piece in terms of the tradition of ecclesiastical art and architecture: he has suggested that the position of the panels on the wall is tied to the height at which 14th-century Italian paintings were hung, and has related the installation in passing to the clerestory of a Gothic church.