Spatial concept (1960)

The Tate Gallery, London (the UK).

Canvas, wooden frame.

Unlike in his other works from the “cuts” series, Fontana used small unpainted canvas in this one. He made a diagonal incision with a sharp blade, and placed a black fabric behind, which creates the illusion of a bottomless abyss and infinity. In the 1950-1960s, Lucio Fontana created a large number of similar works, with the same name and one or more cuts in the middle of the canvas. Despite the similarity of these works, each one has its own story, since an important element of the work is the process of its creation, a gesture that deforms the surface of the canvas and opens up completely new possibilities for it.