Lucio Fontana

Renato Morbidelli Collection, Turin
Patruno Collection, Turin
Acquired directly by the present owner in 1977

Enrico Pellegrini, Buchi e tagli di Lucio Fontana, Turin 1966, p. 19, illustrated
Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana Catalogue Raisonné, Vol. II, Brussels 1974, p. 120, no. 62 O 71, illustrated
Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana Catalogo Generale, Vol. I, Milan 1986, p. 405, no. 62 O 71, illustrated
Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana, Catalogo Ragionato di Sculture, Dipinti, Ambientazioni, Vol. II, Milan 2006, p. 591, no. 62 O 71, illustrated

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the original is a slightly softer, paler pink. Condition: This work is in very good condition. The paint surface is stable. There is a faint pattern of drying craquelure which is characteristic of the artist. The craquelure is entirely stable and is not visually distracting. The central hole in the canvas is also secure and some dust has settled on the impasto around the edges of the hole. There are some very thin lines of craquelure on this thicker impasto. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultra-violet light.
"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."

Concetto Spaziale is a visually arresting example from one of the most important series in Lucio Fontana’s oeuvre. The holes gouged out of the centre of the canvas gape starkly against the glowing rosy pink background, the physicality of the attack on the canvas ground all the more shockingly due to the relative softness and delicacy of the colour. The method of creation is a purely visceral one; Fontana has torn holes in the canvas then thrust his hands through before the paint has had time to dry, dragging his fingers through the oil and in towards the gashes, imbuing the edges of the holes with a sense of inexorable movement towards the viewer.

The approximately circular incision which surrounds the missing areas of canvas is reminiscent of the orbit of a satellite within space; the artist was fascinated and subsequently inspired by the technological advancements that had enabled Yuri Gagarin to be launched as the first human being in space just a year prior to the creation of this current work. As Fontana declared: ‘The discovery of the Cosmos is a new dimension, it is the Infinite: so I make a hole in the canvas, which is the basis for all previous art, to search for an infinite dimension..’ (Lucio Fontana, in an interview with Carla Lonzi in Carla Lonzi, Autoritratto, Bari 1969, p.169).  This concept of the ‘void’ – of reaching beyond the space provided by the two dimensional canvas to reach towards the idea of the fourth dimension, unfettered  by the limitations of earthly matter – had been an ideal of avant-garde artists since the beginning of the twentieth century. Fontana’s destruction of the canvas can be seen as the culmination of a process that began with Malevich’s denial of the canvas in his Black Square, first exhibited at the 0.10 exhibition in Petrograd in 1915. Yet ultimately Concetto Spaziale moves farther than this idea; not only has Fontana moved beyond the static possibilities of canvas, so that the invisible, suggested by the demarcation of the jagged edged holes becomes more important than the visible canvas, but the boundaries between painting and sculpture have been blurred to create what is effectively a completely new art form, one which abounds with extraordinary potential and possibility.