- 14
Lucio Fontana
Description
- Lucio Fontana
- Concetto spaziale, Attese
- firmato, intitolato e iscritto 1 + 1 – GGH7 Varese P.L.B. (316/2) sul retro
- idropittura su tela
- cm 50x65
- Eseguito nel 1961
Provenance
Collezione privata, Varese
Ivi acquisito dall'attuale proprietario
Literature
environnements spatiaux, Bruxelles 1974, vol. II, n. 61 T 24, pp. 126-127, illustrato
Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana Catalogo generale, Milano 1986, vol. II, n. 61 T 24, p. 427, illustrato
Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana, Catalogo Ragionato di sculture, dipinti, ambientazioni, Milano 2006, vol. II, n. 61 T 24, p. 640, illustrato
Condition
"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."
Catalogue Note
In 2008, the known Chinese contemporary artist Zhang Huan said in regard to Lucio Fontana that “history of art gave no chances to Lucio Fontana but he managed to survive (Huan Z. mentioned in Barbero L.M. et alia, Fontana Luce e Colore, Milano, 2008, p. 102). This strongly evocative image, allows us to view his cuts as acts of defence/freedom that the artist played with the canvas, since his canvas was responsible for having historically overcome the artistic experience of bi dimension. However Huan’s definition can’t be seen as incomplete from a critical point of view. Fontana not only “survived” but conquered an important position in history of art thanks to his strong aesthetic choices, something that only great artists do. If it was through cuts that the artist managed to literally open the canvas, it was through the use of colours and the rhythm of his cuts that Fontana accomplished an artistic project based on a new concept of the canvas itself. Thus, describing Fontana as a master of Spatialism can be reductive considering the importance of both colours and the rhythm of cuts in his artistic experience. One cannot consider monochrome, as lack of interest in the subject of colours, but as a profound research made on the relationship between colours, light and spatialism. One can argue a similar thesis about the rhythm of the cuts, through which the artist not only created a new concept of space but, furthermore, he also added a chronological aspect to the work, created the amount of time that the spectator needs to read the rhythms of the cuts on the canvas itself. In this way, these three aspects – space, light and rhythm of the cuts- are important aspects that are well expressed in this Concetto Spaziale executed in 1961. Five cuts scan this canvas, painted in a deep green that evokes Cezanne’s Saint Victoire mountains. The vertical rhythm of the cuts, that seem to first trail each other and then separate from each other, seems to be willing to alter the bi dimension of the canvas. Such strength and vivacity reveal the personality of a serene artist who dominated history and was not merely a survivor.