Untitled (Athena)

In 1979, Jannis Kounellis was invited to create an exhibition at the Bernier Gallery in Athens. For the exhibition, he produced a site-specific work. Kounellis traced the ancient geometric pattern that decorated the floor of the gallery onto the wall. By transferring a horizontal design onto a vertical surface, the artist experimented with space, architecture, and the conventional space of painting. The plaster cast of the head of the Apollo Belvedere (based on a Roman marble copy of the classical Greek bronze) on the top right corner symbolizes the artist’s memory of classical beauty. For the exhibition in Athens, the artist used fresh flowers. The combination of flowers and the plaster head expresses the artist’s concept of myth as a living memory of classical culture and nature. Kounellis personally selected this wall at Magazzino for the installation of this work before his death in 2017.