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Lucio Fontana can be considered one of the most important artists in the history of Italian contemporary art. A revolutionary master who proved, throughout his entire career, great aesthetic sophistication marked by the concept of space. Indeed, Fontana is recognized worldwide as the founder of Spatialism, which is neither a theory nor poetics of space, but a clear assertion that anything done consciously entails making space. His art is a radical disownment of every “representation” of space by means of traditional painting and sculpture. As a painter he tries to destroy painting: he spreads out the colour on the surface and then he “violates” it with one or more cuts. It is a gesture that tries to put the external space in communication with the internal space, the gesture that splits the painting re-establishes continuity between the space on one side and the other of the surface.
Lucio Fontana is the one who went beyond the traditional distinction between painting and sculpture. Space stopped being an object of representation according to conventional standards of perspective. The canvas surface came into direct relation with real space and light. His monochrome canvases bear the mark of the precise and secure gestures of the author who, letting go of his brushes, used razor blades.
If you are passionate collectors of Lucio Fontana do not miss out on the exceptional sale that the auction house Pananti in Florence is about to offer the public next 12th December (exhibition from the 5th to the 11th December).
The work entitled “Concetto Spaziale, Attese”, executed by Lucio Fontana in 1968, will be put up for auction with an estimate between 300,000 and 400,000 in the Modern and Contemporary Art session. The work comes from Hans Möller’s collection, the German editor who represented, in those years, the fulcrum of the multiple realisation of art. The International Avant-garde current found a meeting point and developed in the ferment of his art studio. Almost 50 years ago he gave work and hospitality to now famous artists such as Christo, Arman, Mack, Piene and Uecker and Fontana himself.
The German editor’s daughter, c, declared in an interview that the work is actually “the only painting that my father bought; indeed, other times Fontana had given him some of his works, let’s say as an “exchange of goods” for his work. However, in this case Fontana had needed money at the time and therefore asked him to pay 1,000 Marks for it, which was not such a high amount at the time. A few days later he had used that money to organise a party in Milan in honour of my father inviting all the most important artists of the time, so that they could meet him and then be promoted by him outside Italy”.
The work has the particularity of being one of the last and very likely the last one elaborated by the great artist. Indeed, a few days later, Fontana went with Möller to Rome to talk with a gallery manager who would have sponsored and promoted the realisation of a new project which they had in mind; then they went back to Milan and a couple of days later Lucio Fontana suddenly died.
The painting has a singular dedication on the back of it: L.Fontana “Concetto spaziale ATTESA – The realisation of this painting was seen by Mr Möller and it is going to Dusseldorf”, because in that period one of the master’s assistants was already forging his paintings.
“Concetto Spaziale, Attese”, presented in the catalogue of the Galleria Pananti, is a highly prestigious work and for this reason it is expected to achieve an important hammer price.
Lucio Fontana’s market has kept solid and hopefully it will stay that way even in this period of economic crisis. In recent times the artist has achieved extraordinary quotations on the most important markets of art economy. How could we forget last 27th May when at Sotheby’s Milan, a beautiful painting realised by the artist with a mixed technique and dominated by shapeless splodges and concentrations of matter, from an estimate of 500-700 thousand euros, sold for 1,320,250 euros, setting Fontana’s new sale record in Italy. And how could we forget the outstanding result achieved on 27th February 2008, when Sotheby’s London sold the work “Concetto Spaziale, la fine di Dio” for 10,324,500 pounds (estimate 4.5-5.5 million pounds), establishing the artist’s historical record.
In fact, Lucio Fontana’s market currently seems livelier than ever. From a brief analysis we can observe that since 1995 there have been 2,809 passages at auction of his works, with a sale percentage equivalent to 79%.
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Jean Paul Asselin
Wednesday 11 February 2009
Lucio Fontana was a great master and we can see in the wonderful paintings of A.BRUSORIO the influence and inspiration of Fontana.The Spatialism was conceived by Fontana but his evolution is now achieved by this talented Italian, an genius artist,which is Alfredo Brusorio Regards J.P Asselin
Jean Paul Asselin
Wednesday 18 February 2009
FONTANA WAS THE FATHER OF THE SPATIALISM
AN ARTIST WITH VISION and INSPIRATION FOR THE YOUNG ARTIST ALFREDO BRUSORIO.
J.P.Asselin