Auction Kings Gallery Offers Slashed Painting From the Founder of Spatialism The casual visitor to Lucio Fontana’s studio in the mid-20th century would find an unusual range of tools that he used for his craft. Laid beside the paintbrushes and mixing tools would be sharp knives, jagged pieces of glass, and razors. Using these objects, the Argentine-born Italian artist would slash, poke, and rip apart his paintings. Though criticized for his unusual methods, he left behind a legacy that continues to challenge the concepts of space, gesture, and the sanctity of the canvas. One of Fontana’s signature slashed paintings will be available in Auction Kings Gallery’s upcoming auction, held on October 30th, 2020. Bidding for the work, as well as over 70 other lots, will start at 6:30 PM EDT. Find out more about Lucio Fontana and the artistic movement he started before the auction begins. Ugo Mulas, Lucio Fontana, 1964. Image from Artsy, courtesy of Lia Rumma. The son of a sculptor and an actress, Fontana spent his early years studying architecture, math, and the arts in Italy. He came of age as the Futurist movement began to accelerate and was influenced by its emphasis on speed and technology. Escaping the growing political turmoil that overwhelmed Italy in the 1920s, Fontana first established himself as a sculptor in Argentina. He would eventually bring that background to his paintings. Time spent in Paris and Buenos Aires introduced Fontana to some of his contemporaries, including Joan Miró and Tristan Tzara. Under their influence, he began to pen manifestos describing his vision for the future of art. Manifesto Blanco (1946) and Primo Manifesto dello Spazialismo (1947) set the groundwork for Spatialism, the movement that Fontana helped launch in his mature career. The Spatialists believed that art and technology should be integrated, blending both science and aesthetics. For Fontana, that concept allowed an overlap between sculpture and visual art. “I do not want to make a painting,” he said, “I want to open up space, create a new dimension, tie in the cosmos, as it endlessly expands beyond the confining plane of the…
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