Dentro e fuori dal quadro: Jannis Kounellis, 1958-1964

Through a thorough reconstruction of the practice of Jannis Kounellis in his early years, the essay aims to analyze the paintings and works on paper realized by the artist between 1958 and 1964. The works are contextualized within the broader artistic milieu in Rome in those years, which was characterized by an extremely lively group of artists, to which Kounellis belonged, and largely impacted by the reception of American art (Abstract Expressionism, Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg). The investigation of archival materials, which have never been published before, and an extensive research on the work of the photographers who were closely associated with Kounellis in those years, provided the platform from which to expand on the artist's practice. The words of the critics who championed the artists emerging at that time and the reconstruction of the exhibitions which featured the artist's work were also taken into the proper consideration. By doing so, the contribution of artists of the elder generation, such as Toti Scialoja, is properly assessed, and I could shed light on lesser known works made by Kounellis in the years between the so-called "Alphabets" and the Roses of the mid-1960s. Such a compelling task ended up in the demonstration of the primacy of Kounellis's work in those years and a thorough revision of the chronology of those years, countering the major narratives prevailing in the presentation of the artist's early body of work.