Lucio Fontana (1899-1968), Concetto spaziale

signed 'l. Fontana' (lower right); signed and titled 'l. Fontana Concetto Spaziale' (on the reverse). waterpaint and pencil on canvas. 28¾ x 36¼in. (73 x 92cm.). Executed in 1968. Estimate £200,000 - £300,000 

Provenance: Marlborou:h Galleria d'Arte, Rome.
Paolo Marinotti, Milan.
Nino Carozzi, San Terenzo.
Galleria Morone, Milan.
Alberto Galimberti, Milan.
Tonina Bedei, Milan.
Conti Rovescali, Milan.
Sperone Westwater Gallery, New York.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

Literature: E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana Catalogue raisonné des peintures, sculptures et environnements spatiaux, vol. II, Brussels 1974, no. 68 B 8 (illustrated, p. 151).
E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana Catalogo generale, vol. II, Milan 1986, no. 68 B 8 (illustrated, p. 513).
E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana Catalogo ragionato di sculture, dipinti, ambientazioni, vol. II, Milan 2006, no. 68 B 8 (illustrated, p. 703).

Exhibited: Rodengo Saiano, Abbazia Olivetana, Fondazione Ambrosetti Arte Contemporanea, Lucio Fontana. L'altro spazio, September-November 1999 (illustrated, p. 48).
Zurich, de Pury & Luxembourg, Lucio Fontana, October-December 2002, no. 31.

Notes: "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...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" (Fontana, quoted in E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana, Paintings, Sculptures and Drawings, Milan 2005, p. 27).

Christie's. Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Sale. 11 February 2009. London, King Street. Image Christie's LTD 2009. www.chrisrie's.com