Kounellis's secret fire work reenacted in Rome church

A ghost exhibition lasting only a few hours without public took place in Rome, featuring a reenactment of Jannis Kounellis's 'Untitled' (1969), an artwork previously known only through a photograph by Claudio Abate. The original work consisted of metaldehyde blocks arranged on a tiled floor and set alight, creating a grid of flames. The reenactment was organized by Gavin Brown, who closed his New York gallery after 26 years, and Giulia Ruberti, director of the space, with assistance from the Archivio Kounellis. The event was documented with a video and photographs. The work was installed in the church of Sant'Andrea de Scaphis in Trastevere, a church consecrated in 821 AD for boatmen on the Tiber. Fire entered Kounellis's research in 1967 with a daisy-shaped iron work connected to a gas cylinder at the group show 'Lo Spazio degli elementi: fuoco immagine acqua terra' at Galleria L'Attico. In 1969, metaldehyde flames appeared in multiple works, including at Modern Art Agency in Naples and at Musée des arts décoratifs in Paris in the group show 'Ceroli, Kounellis, Marotta, Pascali. 4 artistes italiens plus que nature', opening October 1, coinciding with the 6th Paris Biennale at Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Germano Celant wrote that fire is a sign of future vision and primordial principle of transformation. The reenactment was timed to recall the 2015 Easter culinary performance by Rirkrit Tiravanija at the same church.