Bio
Lucio Fontana was an Italian-Argentine artist, born on February 19, 1899, in Rosario, Argentina, and passed away on September 7, 1968, in Varese, Italy. He was a significant figure in the abstract art movement and is particularly associated with the concept of “Spatialism.”
Fontana was a versatile artist who worked across various disciplines, including painting, sculpture, ceramics, and architecture. He became most renowned for his iconic series of works called “Concetti Spaziali” (Spatial Concepts), in which he broke the traditional boundaries of painting by puncturing and slashing holes in the canvas. These acts of destruction on the surface disrupted the flat plane of the canvas, creating a sense of depth and space.
Fontana believed that artists should strive to create spatial artworks that explored the relationship between form and space. His radical approach to the medium placed him at the forefront of the European avant-garde in the 1950s and 1960s.
In addition to his artistic practice, Fontana was also an influential figure in the art world as a teacher and theoretician. He founded the “Spatialist Movement” in 1947 and published several manifestos outlining his ideas about spatial art.
Lucio Fontana’s work has had a lasting impact on contemporary art, appreciated for its innovative approach to understanding space and form in art.