Fontana first began puncturing the surface of paper, canvas and ceramics in the late 1940s, marking the beginning of his ‘Spatial Concept’ series. These spatial investigations effectively cut between the space occupied by the viewer, through the surface of the canvas, to the space that lies beyond.

The present work, Concetto Spaziale, is of particular significance, as it is from 1958 and therefore on the cusp of Fontana’s true Tagli (cut) paintings. Although Fontana is widely believed to have started his Tagli series in 1959, the first Tagli were made in the late summer and early autumn of 1958. This large-scale work is among the first investigations by Fontana in his Tagli series. Fontana’s initial ‘slashes’ were cut in tight sequence, and comprised of small, often diagonal incisions, composed in groups. These first incisions in paper canvas are much rougher and more energetic, as one can see in the ragged tears of the present work. Later, in 1959, these tentative cuts evolved into the more definitive, single cuts.

This work was recently included in the major travelling exhibitions Lucio Fontana: On the Threshold (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao) and ZERO: Countdown to the Future (Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul).