L ucio Fontana didn’t just change how art looked, he changed what it could be. Across five seminal works created between the mid-1950s and the 1960s, a new artistic language begins to take shape, one defined by punctures, slashes, raw material, and an obsession with space. Seen together, these works trace a restless pursuit of infinity, unfolding alongside the space race and a world reimagining its relationship to science, matter, and the unknown.
Filmed at Sotheby’s Milan, this rare grouping offers a micro-history of Fontana’s post-war breakthrough, from the visceral physicality of Natura to the elegance and tension of the Attese, and onward to experiments that anticipate his most celebrated cycles. Collected from the legendary Galerie Schmela, the artist’s earliest champion in Germany, the works reveal how Fontana moved from destruction to possibility, leaving behind a visual philosophy that continues to shape contemporary art. This series is on offer as a highlight of the Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction taking place at Sotheby’s London on 4 March, presented by Sotheby’s International Realty.
