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Lot Essay
Executed in 1954, Concetto spaziale forms a part of Fontana's rare and celebrated Pietre series. As well as the holes punctuating the lower half of the canvas are glass ornaments, like stones (hence Pietre) which have been applied to the upper part. The composition and the use of differing textures result in Concetto spaziale representing a singularly poetic and ethereal vision. While the appearance of the stones and holes against the raw canvas is engagingly lyrical, the actual use of these techniques demonstrates to what extent Fontana's Spatial adventure involved light as much as space: the protruding stones create a three-dimensional play of shadow that contrasts with the holes, while also being bright enough to make it dance in their gem-like reflections. The play of shadows recalls not only Fontana's other three dimensional works, but more particularly his architectural projects, not least the cinema ceiling he created for the Milan Fair in 1953.
In applying these 'stones' to his canvases, Fontana appeared to invoke the spirit of the Baroque. These jewel-like ornaments introduce a visual wealth and opulence to Concetto spaziale, an opulence that would reach its apogee in the 1961 Venice paintings. However, Concetto spaziale involves several rich plays of contrast, not least of which is the jarring tension between the blue stones and the raw canvas that forms the absorbing background. Fontana has avoided the rich glosses or colours that feature in so many of his paintings, thereby thrusting the stones into greater relief.
Another contrast is played out between the stones and the punctures themselves, and this is a contrast that cuts to the heart of Fontana's Spatialism. Cutting the canvas was an act of destruction in a way. Fontana's Concetto spaziale is iconoclasm for the modern age. The artist was attacking the staid and outdated age of easel pictures, cutting rather than painting. Fontana denied that these cuts were acts of destruction:
'If any of my discoveries are important, the 'hole' is. By 'hole' I meant going outside the limitations of a picture frame and being free in one's conception of art. A formula like 1+1=2. I did not make holes in order to wreck the picture. On the contrary, I made holes in order to find something else... They never understood. They used to say that I ripped up canvases, destroyed things and wanted to break the rules. But that's not true' (Lucio Fontana, quoted in T. Trini, 'The last interview given by Fontana', pp.34-36, W. Beeren & N. Serota, exh. cat., Lucio Fontana, Amsterdam & London, 1988, p.34).
As countless photographs attest, Fontana was ripping up the canvas, and there was clearly a radicalism in this act of destruction. But it was certainly not Fontana's main intention: while he has, in a revolutionary gesture, torn the canvas so revered by the artistic tradition, it is only in order to bring about a new concept of painting and sculpture. Fontana's destruction was creative. The application of the stones to the surface of Concetto spaziale allows Fontana to accentuate the creativeness and creativity of his art. Yet its great resonance is heightened precisely by the contrast with the punctures at the bottom.
In Concetto spaziale, both the addition of the three-dimensional stones and the puncturing of the surface open up the viewer's understanding of the nature of the canvas. Fontana is trying to shake us out of an irrelevant understanding of the universe, and is encouraging us to view everything from a new perspective. By creating holes and therefore space within the picture, he emphasises Concetto spaziale's objecthood, and this in turn leads to a new understanding of the world around us. As he stated, his works are
'beyond perspective... the discovery of the cosmos is a new dimension, it is infinity, so I make a hole in this canvas, which was at the basis of all the arts and I have created an infinite dimension... the idea is precisely that, it is a new dimension corresponding to the cosmos... The hole is, precisely, creating this void behind there... Einstein's discovery of the cosmos is the infinite dimension, without end. And so here we have: foreground, middleground and background... to go farther what do I have to do?... I make holes, infinity passes through them, light passes through them, there is no need to paint' (quoted in E. Crispolti, 'Spatialism and Informel. The Fifties', pp.144-150 in E. Crispolti & R. Siligato (ed.), exh. cat., Lucio Fontana, Milan, 1998, p. 146).
In this way, Concetto spaziale heralds the Space Age in every sense. Despite pre-dating space travel by some time, Fontana's concept of the new sense of scale in the universe has mingled with his new sense of man's very real ability to reach to the stars. The infinite dimension invoked in Concetto spaziale is the same infinite dimension that was inspiring scientists in the United States and in Russia to create their rockets and satellites during the same period.
For an artist who was so preoccupied with the Cosmos, it is interesting to find that the holes, each one a little leap into another dimension, are in the bottom half of Concetto spaziale and not the top, where they would appear to figure as stars. Despite the lack of importance of figuration in such works, Fontana was well aware that the human mind reads certain shapes and lines and forms that occur in art and in nature. So it is that Concetto spaziale recalls a seascape, with the holes appearing like so many glittering waves under a starry sky. However, Fontana's judicious use of the stones in the upper half creates a play of light that only serves to heighten the effect of a starry night.
In applying these 'stones' to his canvases, Fontana appeared to invoke the spirit of the Baroque. These jewel-like ornaments introduce a visual wealth and opulence to Concetto spaziale, an opulence that would reach its apogee in the 1961 Venice paintings. However, Concetto spaziale involves several rich plays of contrast, not least of which is the jarring tension between the blue stones and the raw canvas that forms the absorbing background. Fontana has avoided the rich glosses or colours that feature in so many of his paintings, thereby thrusting the stones into greater relief.
Another contrast is played out between the stones and the punctures themselves, and this is a contrast that cuts to the heart of Fontana's Spatialism. Cutting the canvas was an act of destruction in a way. Fontana's Concetto spaziale is iconoclasm for the modern age. The artist was attacking the staid and outdated age of easel pictures, cutting rather than painting. Fontana denied that these cuts were acts of destruction:
'If any of my discoveries are important, the 'hole' is. By 'hole' I meant going outside the limitations of a picture frame and being free in one's conception of art. A formula like 1+1=2. I did not make holes in order to wreck the picture. On the contrary, I made holes in order to find something else... They never understood. They used to say that I ripped up canvases, destroyed things and wanted to break the rules. But that's not true' (Lucio Fontana, quoted in T. Trini, 'The last interview given by Fontana', pp.34-36, W. Beeren & N. Serota, exh. cat., Lucio Fontana, Amsterdam & London, 1988, p.34).
As countless photographs attest, Fontana was ripping up the canvas, and there was clearly a radicalism in this act of destruction. But it was certainly not Fontana's main intention: while he has, in a revolutionary gesture, torn the canvas so revered by the artistic tradition, it is only in order to bring about a new concept of painting and sculpture. Fontana's destruction was creative. The application of the stones to the surface of Concetto spaziale allows Fontana to accentuate the creativeness and creativity of his art. Yet its great resonance is heightened precisely by the contrast with the punctures at the bottom.
In Concetto spaziale, both the addition of the three-dimensional stones and the puncturing of the surface open up the viewer's understanding of the nature of the canvas. Fontana is trying to shake us out of an irrelevant understanding of the universe, and is encouraging us to view everything from a new perspective. By creating holes and therefore space within the picture, he emphasises Concetto spaziale's objecthood, and this in turn leads to a new understanding of the world around us. As he stated, his works are
'beyond perspective... the discovery of the cosmos is a new dimension, it is infinity, so I make a hole in this canvas, which was at the basis of all the arts and I have created an infinite dimension... the idea is precisely that, it is a new dimension corresponding to the cosmos... The hole is, precisely, creating this void behind there... Einstein's discovery of the cosmos is the infinite dimension, without end. And so here we have: foreground, middleground and background... to go farther what do I have to do?... I make holes, infinity passes through them, light passes through them, there is no need to paint' (quoted in E. Crispolti, 'Spatialism and Informel. The Fifties', pp.144-150 in E. Crispolti & R. Siligato (ed.), exh. cat., Lucio Fontana, Milan, 1998, p. 146).
In this way, Concetto spaziale heralds the Space Age in every sense. Despite pre-dating space travel by some time, Fontana's concept of the new sense of scale in the universe has mingled with his new sense of man's very real ability to reach to the stars. The infinite dimension invoked in Concetto spaziale is the same infinite dimension that was inspiring scientists in the United States and in Russia to create their rockets and satellites during the same period.
For an artist who was so preoccupied with the Cosmos, it is interesting to find that the holes, each one a little leap into another dimension, are in the bottom half of Concetto spaziale and not the top, where they would appear to figure as stars. Despite the lack of importance of figuration in such works, Fontana was well aware that the human mind reads certain shapes and lines and forms that occur in art and in nature. So it is that Concetto spaziale recalls a seascape, with the holes appearing like so many glittering waves under a starry sky. However, Fontana's judicious use of the stones in the upper half creates a play of light that only serves to heighten the effect of a starry night.