Art concepts, opportunity to spread Fontana’s legacy in AL

The universe of Lucio Fontana (1899-1968), whose inventions in 20th century art continue to resonate today, has been carefully compiled and expanded in Concepts of art: Manifestos, articles, interviews, writings and eight unpublished letters, copy launched in Mexico by the Alias ​​publishing house.

More than a simple collection of writings, it is a profound journey into the thought and career of the Italian-Argentine painter and ceramist, a key figure in the development of spatialism, a movement that broke the barriers of traditional forms.

This publication represents an opportunity to spread Fontana’s legacy in Latin America. The artist is a reference in Italy and Argentina, but not in our countrysaid the book’s editorial coordinator, Susana E. Echevarría, to The Day.

“Conceived by the Mexican artist Damián Ortega, Alias ​​is a project that publishes valuable references for contemporary art, creations that have not been translated and disseminated in Spanish, or discontinued editions that have never been distributed in Mexico.

“The commitment to the dissemination of cultural and artistic thought led the publisher to launch an expanded compilation in Spanish of the text Lucio Fontana: Posters, writings, interviews, published in 2015 by Abscondita, and edited by Ángela Sanna, professor of contemporary art history at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, in Milan.”

Editor and cultural promoter, Echevarría (Mexico City, 1985) maintained that the collaboration with Sanna was crucial to enrich the Spanish edition.

“He told us that there were some letters between Fontana and Marcello Venturoli – a very famous art critic in Italy – that had not been published. We were fortunate to include them thanks to the collaboration with the Primo Conti Foundation of Fiesole, where these documents were found.

“These letters not only offer a more intimate view of Fontana, but also highlight his role as a mentor and cultural promoter. He was always in contact with young artists, such as new promises of art, and was a putative father for many of them.

“Interviews were also included in their full version and four conducted with Fontana by Carlo Cisventi, Gracia Livi, Pierre Restany and Marcelo Venturoli, in addition to an epistle published in The Hours, as well as an intervention for the first international congress of industrial design (Milan Triennale, 1954).”

In interviews, Fontana delves into topics such as abstract art and spatial exploration, while reflecting his vision of art as a synthesis of color, sound, movement, time and space. His statements about artists such as Yves Klein show his connection with the most advanced currents of his time.

Born in Rosario de Santa Fe, Argentina, and died in Varese, Italy, Lucio Fontana lived a life marked by the constant search for new forms of expression. From his early years, divided between Italy and Argentina, he immersed himself in monumental art under the guidance of Adolfo Wildt, later diverting towards abstraction.

This path led him to found the Altamira Academy, in Argentina, during World War II, where he wrote the influential White manifesto. Returning to Italy in 1947, his work took a radical turn with the series of holes and the famous cortesinterventions on canvas that sought to open a new dimension in art.

The artist stated: In my profession as a painter, when making a painting with a cut, I do not want to create a canvas: I open a space, a new dimension in the orientation of contemporary arts. I make these cuts, these concepts. I start something, compared to the space age, I am the man who draws a mark in the sand.

Fontana’s work not only broke with traditional forms of painting and sculpture, but also explored new technologies and materials. He pioneered the use of neon lights, Wood, and his space environments They urged the viewer to experience space in unprecedented ways.

These innovations profoundly influenced contemporary art, anticipating trends that would emerge decades later.

For Echevarría, “Fontana is perhaps one of the most radical painters of the 20th century, along with his Ukrainian colleague Kasimir Malevich.

“There is no doubt that it was innovative; His influence endures to this day. New generations of artists and theorists will continue studying his works and ideas. The publication of Concepts of art… “It is a testament to the importance of his legacy.”

Concepts of art: Manifestos, articles, interviews, writings and eight unpublished letters It can be purchased on the website https://n9.cl/1u1s2.