Lucio Fontana, a major exhibition at the Metropolitan in New York: his first retrospective in the US in 40 years

From January 23 to April 14, 2019, Lucio Fontana (Rosario, 1899 - Comabbio, 1968) is the protagonist of a major exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York: the show is entitled Lucio Fontana. On the threshold (“Lucio Fontana. On the Threshold”) and is presented as the first retrospective of the artist in the U.S. in more than 40 years: the exhibition aims to reconsider the legacy of this very important postwar artist through a selection of sculptures, ceramics, paintings, drawings and environments made between 1931 and 1968. A founder of Spatialism and one of the most innovative artists of the 20th century, Lucio Fontana is best known for his “cuts” created beginning in 1958, which became iconic works of the period. The exhibition also presents some important examples of this iconic series, and will investigate Fontana’s beginnings as a sculptor and his pioneering work with spatial environments.

The exhibition, curated by Iria Candela and Estrellita B. Brodsky, delves into Fontana’s research from his earliest experiments to the best-known achievements of the mature phase of his career, and above all addresses Fontana’s production by analyzing all languages, from painting to sculpture without forgetting the decorative arts. In fact, the thesis is that Fontana, through spatialism, attempted a synthesis of the arts, and his multidisciplinary approach extended the concept of the artistic experience to include the surrounding environment. As a pioneer of spatial environments, Fontana initiated experiments with light and space, laying the groundwork for future developments in environmental and installation art. The Metropolitan’s exhibition will also reconstruct the neon structure that Fontana presented at the 9th Milan Triennale in 1951, and there will be two immersive installations never before presented in the United States: the Utopie environment presented at the 13th Milan Triennale (1964) and the 1967Red Light Space Environment.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog with essays by international experts who will explore Fontana’s work from both the Italian and Argentine perspectives (Fontana was in fact born in Argentina), with a wealth of illustrations: the volume will be published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press. More information can be found on the Metropolitan’s website. Hashtag for the exhibition: #MetLucioFontana.

Pictured: Lucio Fontana, Spatial Concept. Waiting (1959; oil on canvas; Olnick Spanu Collection) © 2018 Lucio Fontana Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/SIAE, Rome

Lucio Fontana, a major exhibition at the Metropolitan in New York: his first retrospective in the US in 40 years

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.