Lucio Fontana

Teresita Rasini Fontana, Milan

Alberto Dall'Ora, Milan

Acquired directly from the above by the present owner in the early 1990s

Turin, Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna, Lucio Fontana, 1970, n.p., no. 236, illustrated in colour

Turin, Galleria Notizie, Balla, Picasso, Fontana, Brauner, 1970, no. 246

Caracas, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Lucio Fontana, 1974-75, n.p., no. 15, illustrated in colour

Florence, Palazzo Pitti, Fontana, 1980, no. 56, illustrated in colour

Cologne, Dia Art Foundation, Lucio Fontana 1926-1968, 1981

Madrid, Palacio de Velázquez, Lucio Fontana. El espacio como exploración, 1982, p. 95, no. 76, illustrated in colour

Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung / Staatsgalerie Moderner Kunst; Darmstadt, Mathildenhöhe; and Bielefeld, Kunsthalle, Lucio Fontana, 1983-84, p. 107, no. 89, illustrated 

Frankfurt am Main, Schirn Kunsthalle and Vienna, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Lucio Fontana. Retrospektive, 1996-97, p. 145, no. 103, illustrated in colour

London, Hayward Gallery, Lucio Fontana, 1999-2000, p. 143, no. 84, illustrated in colour

Enrico Crispolti, Omaggio a Fontana, Rome 1971, p. 211, no. 244, illustrated 

Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana: Catalogue Raisonné des Peintures et Environments Spatiaux, Brussels 1974, Vol, I, p. 82, no. 68 O 10, illustrated in colour, Vol. II, p. 145, no. 68 O 10, illustrated

C A Kwast, et al., Een inleiding in de filosofie, Blok 3, Heerlen 1985, illustrated on the cover

Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana: Catalogo Generale, Vol. II, Milan 1986, p. 497, no. 68 O 10, illustrated in colour and p. 498, no. 68 O 10, illustrated

Flaminio Gualdoni, I Grandi Pittori, Novecento, secondo parte, Vol. VIII, Novara 1988, p. 377, illustrated in colour

Enrico Crispolti, Centenario di Lucio Fontana, Milan 1999, p. 40, no. 262, illustrated

Enrico Crispolti, Lucio Fontana: Catalogo Ragionato di Sculture, Dipinti, Ambientazioni, Vol. II, Milan 2006, p. 687, no. 68 O 10, illustrated

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is lighter in the original. Condition. This work is in very good condition. Close inspection reveals some fine hairline cracks radiating from the central protrusions and in places towards the edges, all of which are stable and in keeping with the artist's working process. Further inspection reveals a short hairline crack to the lower right of the impastoed area to the centre of the composition and minute losses to the lower and vertical edges, three to the centre of the lower edge, one to the bottom left corner and two to the bottom right edge. There are two specks of media accretion along the bottom edge. 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."

Created in the final year of Lucio Fontana’s prolific life, Concetto Spaziale is a sumptuous homage to the most celebrated and iconic elements of the artist’s iconic oeuvre: the gestural piercing of the canvas, the intense colouration of the monochrome surface, and the symbolism of the circular shape. Since his return to Italy from Argentina in 1947, Fontana had redefined the static perception of the two-dimensional canvas and infused this with the notion of Spatialism. In his quest to liberate the painterly medium and move towards the fourth dimension, Fontana’s mature works from his last decade encompass some of his most important artistic achievements. Included in seminal exhibitions, the present work unites a complex blending of the artist’s fascination for technological progress such as space travel, echoed in the black void that opens up behind the two dramatic perforations, as well as his life-long admiration for the Baroque and opulent elements in art, represented here in the exuberant application of visceral pink paint. Forming part of Fontana’s celebrated corpus of Olii, this series constitutes a physical and existential pendant to the philosophical serenity of the Tagli.

The sensuous colour of the present work is contrasted by the artist’s vehement puncturing and slashing of the canvas, an act that is inevitably associated with destructiveness and agony. Emphasising this visual paradox of pleasure and pain, Fontana commented that the Olii “symbolize the unsettled nature of the modern man. The fine outline... (drawn into the oily surface)... is the itinerary of man in space, his surprise and fear of getting lost; the cut, lastly, is a sudden scream of pain, the final release of deep anguish that in the end becomes unbearable” (Lucio Fontana in conversation with Grazia Livi, ‘Incontro con Lucio Fontana’, Vanita, Vol. VI, No. 13, Autumn 1962, p. 53). Indeed, the present work was conceived at a time when the universe literally opened up as a possible new stratum for human endeavours. The cosmic excursions of Soviet and U.S. spaceships resulted in technological progress that turned previous science-fiction visions into actual reality. The photographic footage sent from space provoked at once enthusiasm and frenzy but also anxiety and fear. These conflicting emotions are masterfully echoed in the sheer expressiveness of the present work. The wavy, circular shapes incised on the surface recall the universal symbol of birth and regeneration, a concept that is reverberated by the eroticism and mysticism of the downward thrust of the openings. At the same time, the heavy lumps of visceral paint framing these powerful perpetrations appear as wounded scars on the canvas in all of their carnal physicality and explosive violence.

From the twelve Olii created in 1968, seven have been painted in the luscious pink colour of the present work. His preference for monochrome compositions originated from his first encounter with the works of Yves Klein during Klein’s legendary exhibition at Galleria Apollinaire in Milan in 1957. The fleshy pink in particular seems to have attracted Fontana as he described it as “la rosa di mutand di don”, or the pink of ladies’ underpants, further alluding to the sensuality of the erotic shade (Lucio Fontana quoted in: Pia Gottschaller, Lucio Fontana: The Artist’s Materials, Los Angeles 2012, p. 94). Reflecting on the powerful impact of the colour, curator Pia Gottschaller writes that “the visceral impact of the unusual colour was intended to be so startling that the identity of the material conveying it would recede in importance” (Ibid., p. 94).

Oscillating between sculptural materiality and painterly essence, Concetto Spaziale is suffused with the idea of rebirth in the age of cosmic exploration. In a combination of violence and passion, tradition and progress, Baroque opulence and scientific rigour, the present work forms a mosaic of Fontana’s rich inspirations that culminate in an emotive visual sensation. More than any other series, the Olii visualise Fontana’s fascination with the cosmic universe and form a potent representation of evocative dichotomies.