1899 - 1968

Born in Rosario di Santa Fé (), died in Varese ().

The Argentine-Italian visual artist Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) has broadened and deepened the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth century with new concepts such as environments and Spatialism. His oeuvre consists mainly of abstract work; monochrome paintings and massive sculptures that he cuts into to add a spatial dimension. He calls this type of work work Concetto Spaziale or 'spatial concept'. Fontana brings image and space together by adding a visible intervention whereby the light becomes involved in the perception of the canvas or object. With Fontana there is no longer any question of different disciplines such as painting or sculpture, but rather of an integrated work that fuses elements of the installation (the artwork as a built-up object), the performance (the incision as action) and the environment (the artwork as environmental element).

Text: Hans Willemse
Translations: Michael Meert