Jannis Kounellis

Galleria La Tartaruga, Rome
Seomi Gallery, Seoul (acquired in 1995)
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in 2006

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the tonality of the background tends more towards cream in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There is wear to the bottom right extreme corner tip, where the canvas has been worn through, towards the centre of the top edge and to the bottom edge towards the bottom left corner. There is a very tiny artist's pin hole towards the bottom left corner. the top, right and bottom extreme edges are irregular in places with few indentations and protuberances. Close inspection reveals fail stretcher bar's marks to the left and bottom edge, towards the left centre and towards the top right and left corners. Examination under ultra violet light reveals a very small spot of white fluorescence to the centre of the top edge.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Executed in 1967, after two years of inactivity, The Black Rose stunningly testimonies Kounellis's return to artistic creativity and his crucial role within the development of the Arte Povera movement. In The Black Rose Kounellis magisterially creates a mysterious ambiguity between the elegant beauty and inner simplicity of the rose and its unusual black colour.

In this same defining year, Kounellis had created Margherita di Fuoco (Burning Daisy) where a daisy made of iron spurted a flame from its centre. In both works, Kounellis opened a dialogue between living beings and a surreal poetical vision of reality. As he stated referring to this body of work: "when there is someone who perhaps wants to do things for himself that do not exist and believes so strongly in them that he makes them really happen. [...] It is a possibility of life and afterwards as a possibility of painting." (the artist interviewed by Carla Lonzi in: Exhibition Catalogue, Prato, Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Kounellis, 2001, p. 45). Standing as a monument to Kounellis's creative universe, The Black Rose was amongst the first compositions to herald this radical shift towards Arte Povera's practices and can be seen as a truly breakthrough work.