Lucio Fontana

Born 1899 in Rosario de Santa Fe, Argentina
Died 1968 in Comabbio, Italy

Lucio Fontana was born on February 19, 1899, in Rosario de Santa Fé, Argentina. His father was Italian and his mother Argentinean. He lived in Milan from 1905 to 1922 and then moved back to Argentina, where he worked as a sculptor in his father's studio for several years before opening his own. In 1926, he participated in the first exhibition of Nexus (formed in 1907), a group of young Argentinean artists in Rosario de Santa Fé. On his return to Milan in 1928, Fontana enrolled at the Accademia di belle arti di Brera, which he attended for two years.
The Galleria del Milione, Milan, organized Fontana's first solo exhibition in 1930. In 1934, he joined the group of abstract Italian sculptors associated with the gallery. The artist traveled to Paris in 1935 and joined the group Abstraction-Création (Abstraction Creation, 1931–36). The same year, he developed his skills in ceramics in Albisola, Italy, and later at the Sèvres factory, near Paris. In 1939, he joined the Milanese anti-Fascist artists' group Corrente (Current, 1938–43). He also intensified his lifelong collaboration with architects during this period.
In 1940, Fontana moved to Buenos Aires. With some of his students, he founded in 1946 the Academia de Altamira, from which emerged the "Manifesto blanco" (White manifesto, 1946). He moved back to Milan in 1947 and in collaboration with a group of writers and philosophers signed the "Primo manifesto dello spazialismo" (First manifesto of spatialism). He subsequently resumed his ceramic work in Albisola to explore these new ideas with his Concetti spaziali (Spatial concepts, 1949–60).
The year 1949 marked a turning point in Fontana's career; he concurrently created his first series of paintings in which he punctured the canvas with buchi (holes), and his first spatial environment, a combination of shapeless sculptures, fluorescent paintings, and black lights to be viewed in a dark room. The latter work soon led him to employ neon tubing in ceiling decoration. In the early 1950s, he participated in Italian Art Informel exhibitions. During this decade, he explored working with various effects, such as slashing and perforating, in both painting and sculpture. The artist visited New York in 1961 during a show of his work at the Martha Jackson Gallery. In 1966, he designed opera sets and costumes for La Scala, Milan.
In the last year of his career, Fontana became increasingly interested in the staging of his work in the many exhibitions that honored him worldwide, as well as in the idea of purity achieved in his last white canvases. These concerns were prominent at the 1966 Venice Biennale, for which he designed the environment for his work, and at the 1968 Documenta, Kassel, West Germany. Fontana died on September 7, 1968, in Comabbio, Italy.

Lucio Fontana, 18 Concetto Spaziale, 1960, Linen, 92,4 x 73 cm | 36.38 x 28.74 in, # FONT0001 Lucio Fontana, 18 Concetto Spaziale, 1960, Linen, 92,4 x 73 cm | 36.38 x 28.74 in, # FONT0001

Exhibitions

ARNDT Singapore at Gillman Barracks ARNDT Singapore at Gillman Barracks

ARNDT takes project space at Gillman Barracks in Singapore
Opening: 18 January 2013, 6 - 9 p.m.

ARNDT Singapore is a project space, viewing room and Asian office for internationally renowned art dealer, Matthias Arndt.
The Singapore premises is situated in the new art destination, Gillman Barracks which is located in the center of Singapore that houses galleries and creative businesses, as well as the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) opening in 2013.
ARNDT Singapore will be staging shows of leading international artists as well as projects and curated shows featuring South East Asian Art.  The Singapore office will enable ARNDT to further develop both private and corporate collections and artist management in the Asia-Pacific Region.

ARNDT Singapore in the PRESS

The Straits Times | 14 Jan 2013 | Huang Lijie | Pairing artists from East and West


The first exhibition will feature:

Otto Piene, Heinz Mack and ZERO: Light & Reflection

January 18 to March 31, 2013

ARNDT is pleased to present Otto Piene, Heinz Mack and ZERO: Light & Reflection, the opening show of the new Singapore project space exhibiting works by Otto Piene, Heinz Mack, Lucio Fontana and Yves Klein.

The ZERO Group, celebrated worldwide in museums and collections with planned shows at Grand Palais Paris, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum NYC, and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam from spring 2013 to 2015, has been founded by Otto Piene and Heinz Mack (and Günther Uecker) in 1958, with the goal of revolutionising post-war art, leaving received principles of art behind.
From now, light and movement was the central point of their art. What had begun in Düsseldorf, Germany, would develop in less than a decade into one of the most significant avant-garde movements of the 20th century.
When ZERO disbanded in 1966, the group had collaborated with a wide range of artist – such as Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Piero Manzoni, Jean Tinguely and Yayoi Kusama. After more than half a century of ZERO, the group is once again becoming a centre of public attention; therefore it was only a matter of time that the three exceptional artists Otto Piene, Heinz Mack and Günther Uecker would equalise with the wider circle of ZERO members on the international art landscape and market.

Please click here to view a complete list of exhibited works.

Opening Hours: Wed – Sun 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
And by appointment: Singapore@arndtberlin.com

Address:
ARNDT Fine Art Singapore Pte. Ltd.
Gillman Barracks, 22, Lock Road, #01-35
Singapore 108939

Email: Singapore@arndtberlin.com
 

ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection | Please click on image to see more ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection | Please click on image to see more
ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection
ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection | From left to right: Otto Piene, 'Fleur du mal' and 'For Greco' ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection | From left to right: Otto Piene, 'Fleur du mal' and 'For Greco'
ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection
ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection  ARNDT Singapore | Installation view of Light & Reflection