In 1994, Kounelis staged a retrospective on the Ionion , a freighter moored in the port of Pireaus - a perfect metaphor for the Greek seafaring tradition. The "Ionion" 's battered exterior offered a fascinating contrast to the installations within, creating "an environment within an environment" . Inside the hold, sheets of steel were stacked against the walls, burlap sacks, sacks of coal, and coffee-measuring scales strewn on the floor, and stones from the ceiling. The exhibition was organised by the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation .

The "Ionion" was a homecoming for Kounelis, who had left Greece in the mid-fifties in search of modernity. Born in Pireaus, Kounelis moved to Rome at the age of 20 to study at the Academy of Fine Arts. Many consider him a pioneer of the Arte Povera movement. In 1960, he had his first solo show at Rome's Galleria La Tartaruga. Between 1960-84, Kounelis exhibited all over the world. In 1986, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago organised a Kounelis retrospective. In 1997, Kounelis exhibited at the Museum Ludwig-Kelk, in Cologne, Germany. He currently teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dusseldorf.