Lucio Fontana

Galleria Rotta, Genova
Galleria Gissi, Turin
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1980

In his sublime Concetto Spaziale, Attese, Lucio Fontana explores both cerebral and celestial dynamism in a lush composition animated with his signature tagli.

The vertical slashes have a forward-leaning rhythm, like the synchronized sway of blades of grass in a breeze. Indeed, the monochromatic expanse approximates the landscape of Fontana's youth; the emerald green of the Argentinian pampa, the "endless plains on which horses roam, their manes flying in the wind" (Antonio Corpora, 'Lucio Fontana', La cermaica, July 1940 p.244). This work, part of the series, Attese, which translates as both 'hope' and 'expectation', evokes a sense of anticipation for the spring. For Fontana, this work is the creative revival of the past through the serene nostalgia of the present, a cycle further emphasised by his verdant palette, symbolic of rebirth and renewal.

In a larger context, 1961, the year this work was executed, marked the spring of the Space Age. On April 12th, Russia had launched the first cosmonaut in space, Yuri Gagarin, who circled the earth in 1 hour and 48 minutes. This was a momentous event for Fontana, who had founded the artistic movement Spatialism with the endeavour of exploring colour, sound, space, time, and movement--what he considered the dimensions of existence-in his artistic oeuvre. In this painting, which recalls the energy and influence of technology of Futurist precedents, Fontana articulates these five dimensions with five dynamic slashes. The vigorous act of breaking the barrier of the flat canvas becomes a celebration of man's feat of surpassing physical limitation and an assertion of freedom from traditional artistic confines. "The tactile blackness of deep space is surely one of the sensations Fontana wished us to experience in front of a cut," (Sarah Whitfield, Exhibition Catalogue, London, The Hayward Gallery, Lucio Fontana, 1999-2000, p.46). Pierced linen recedes into the shadow of each opening, such that the surface and the void become part of one singular continuum. A two-dimensional canvas evolves into a more enigmatic form. "Fontana creates a space where the most distant polarities finally meet and close together," (Sarah Whitfield, Exhibition Catalogue, London, The Hayward Gallery, Lucio Fontana, 1999-2000, p.48). The artistic trace becomes an active, infinite brushstroke which underscores Fontana's innovation.