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Small but mighty, this Concetto spaziale is a true artistic gem that embodies one of the many aspects of Lucio Fontana's rich and polymorphic practice of the 1960s. Executed alongside but radically different to the artist’s minimalist cycle Concetti spaziali – Tagli, begun in 1959, this striking yet delicate artwork was part of Antonio Fornaroli’s most personal effects.
This work was likely a rather special memento for guests who attended Gino and Elena Cremaschi’s silver anniversary celebrations in 1963, as revealed by the inscription on the reverse. The Cremaschis were part of the cultured Italian bourgeoisie of the time who, like the Fornarolis, enjoyed and supported the work of contemporary artists. In his 1949 Domus article ‘Una casa non finisce mai’, Gio Ponti praised Elena’s refined taste and elegant interiors that mixed the antique with the contemporary, and the fine with the decorative arts. Her home, like Fornaroli’s, included works by Ponti himself, Pietro Melandri, Paolo De Poli and Fausto Melotti. The same artists were also favoured by architects and tastemakers Ico and Luisa Parisi, who showed their affinity to the arts through their small but influential shop and studio ‘La Ruota’, opened in Como in 1948. The present work displays the shop’s oval label, suggesting it was once likely on display in this creative and collaborative space that promoted the works of contemporary pioneering artists and designers. The date of this piece coincides with a period of close collaboration between Ico Parisi and Lucio Fontana who worked together on the Monumento dei Caduti alla Resistenza (1962) in Cuneo and other site-specific works Fontana executed for Ico and Luisa Parisi’s home in Como.
The execution of this important work falls within Fontana’s Olii phase (1957-1968) and is reminiscent of his Venezia series, first exhibited in July 1961 at the international Arte e Contemplazione exhibition at Palazzo Grassi in Venice and presented later that year at Martha Jackson Gallery in New York, marking Fontana's US debut. The impasto canvases of Fontana’s Olii, as art historian Luca Massimo Barbero put it, served Fontana perfectly as "a surface of Baroque sensuality that could accommodate his new spatial inventions - holes and slashes - and support small fragments of polychrome glass and mirrors".
These inventions are also exemplified on a smaller scale in this Concetto spaziale. The work testifies to Fontana's manual handling of a surface resembling the supple material of the Olii as well as his love of light and reflective materials. The oblong, precious metal surface was in fact executed using the cire-perdue casting technique, reflecting the softer and more malleable wax material of the work’s original mould. It is treated as a plane for the Concetto spaziale, traced with a continuous line and holes of different sizes that gently protrude outwards, as well one red and one azure Murano glass fragment.
Lucio Fontana puncturing a canvas in his studio, Milan, 1963.
Credit: Photo Ugo Mulas © Ugo Mulas Heirs. All rights reserved.The press release for the Martha Jackson gallery exhibition describes Fontana’s works of combined "stab holes, cuts in the canvas, pebbles of Murano glass with a new plastic paint" and credits the artist with his "violent yet romantic forms and textures" which, in their baroque aesthetic, convey the "sense of physical depth with surface skin by slashing and piercing all the way through". Characterised by thickly applied glossy acrylic paint, Fontana's Venezia series comprised twenty-two works and was inspired by the city's Byzantine and Baroque architecture. The works titles suggested personal 'ecstasies' experienced by the artist during his Venetian stay, including 'Night of Love in Venice', The Gold of Venice' or 'Venice - Silver at Dawn'.
This outstanding work, housed for many years in Casa Fornaroli, similarly conveys all the richness and baroque sensuality of the Venezia series. It not only explains the use of precious materials in other work by Lucio Fontana - he executed his first piece of jewellery in 1961 in the Milan studio of Gio and Arnaldo Pomodoro to which he "came with a nail in his pocket to pierce a sheet of pure gold that had been prepared by their goldsmith” – but also reveals his appreciation of silvery and gold pigments for their ability to reflect light.
By Dr. Lisa Hockemeyer, Art and Design Historian and Associate Professor of Design, Politecnico di Milano
Provenance
Galleria La Ruota di Ico e Luisa Parisi, Como
Antonio Fornaroli, Milan
Thence by descentCatalogue Essay
Phillips wishes to thank the Fondazione Lucio Fontana, Milan, for their assistance in cataloguing the present lot.
257
'Concetto spaziale'
circa 1963
Punctured and incised precious metal, coloured glass.
20 x 4.3 x 0.6 cm (7 7/8 x 1 3/4 x 0 1/4 in.)
Front signed l. fontana. Reverse impressed with metal fineness mark 925 and NOZZE D ARGENTO/GINO-ELENA CREMASCHI/20 FEBBRAIO 1963 and with foil label impressed LA RUOTA.
Estimate
£5,000 - 7,000 ‡♠
Sold for £53,340
Antonia King
Head of Sale, Design
+44 20 7901 7944
Antonia.King@phillips.com
Casa Fornaroli
London Auction 27 April 2023
201
Gio Ponti
Scenography sketch
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000 ‡♠
Sold for £6,350
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202
Gio Ponti
Unique inset drinks cabinet with integrated 'Le bariste' painting and shelf
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000 ‡♠
Sold for £22,860
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203
Gio Ponti
Group of nine glasses
Estimate £1,800 - 2,400 ‡
Sold for £6,096
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204
Gio Ponti
Prototype armchair
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ‡
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205
Pablo Picasso
'Madoura'
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000 ‡♠
Sold for £2,159
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206
Thomas Stearns
Vase, model no. 8632, from the 'Cilindri' series
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ‡
Sold for £16,510
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207
Gio Ponti
'I fantini' toy furniture
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000 ‡
Sold for £1,651
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208
Tapio Wirkkala
Rare bowl, model no. 506.0
Estimate £1,200 - 1,800 ‡
Sold for £1,524
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209
Carlo de Carli
Set of eight dining chairs, model no. 671
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000 ‡
Sold for £10,160
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210
Gio Ponti
Two costume sketches, for the 'Festa Romantica' ballet
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000 ‡♠
Sold for £2,286
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211
Gio Ponti
'Morandiana' bottle with stopper
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000 ‡
Sold for £1,905
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212
Pablo Picasso
'Visage de face'
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000 ‡♠
Sold for £2,159
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213
Gio Ponti
Unique large wardrobe with integrated door
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ‡
Sold for £25,400
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214
Fausto Melotti
Untitled
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ‡♠
Sold for £40,640
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215
Paolo De Poli
Group of thirteen coasters and two stars
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000 ‡
Sold for £10,795
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216
Fausto Melotti
Necklace
Estimate £1,800 - 2,400 ‡♠
Sold for £5,080
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217
Pablo Picasso
'Femme au chapeau fleuri'
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000 ‡♠
Sold for £21,590
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218
Pablo Picasso
'Vallauris'
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ‡♠
Sold for £16,510
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219
Pablo Picasso
'Visage aux mains'
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000 ‡♠
Sold for £9,525
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220
Fausto Melotti
Important vase
Estimate £8,000 - 12,000 ‡♠
Sold for £15,240
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221
Gio Ponti
Rare extendable dining table
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000 ‡
Sold for £35,560
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222
Venini
'Poliedri' ceiling light
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000 ‡
Sold for £9,525
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223
Fulvio Bianconi
Two bottles with stoppers, model nos. 4581 and 4582
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000 ‡
Sold for £3,556
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224
Gio Ponti
Two custom bookcases with integrated cabinets
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ‡
Sold for £76,200
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225
Pietro Chiesa
Flower holder, model no. 2069
Estimate £1,200 - 1,800 ‡
Sold for £4,826
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226
Gio Ponti
'Balletto della Scala' jacket
Estimate £600 - 800
Sold for £699
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227
Pablo Picasso
'Joueur de diaule'
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000 ‡♠
Sold for £12,700
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228
Pablo Picasso
'Trois personnages sur tremplin'
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000 ‡♠
Sold for £2,286
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229
Fausto Melotti
Bowl
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ‡♠
Sold for £6,350
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230
Fausto Melotti
Necklace
Estimate £1,800 - 2,400 ‡♠
Sold for £4,445
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231
Fausto Melotti
Earrings
Estimate £1,200 - 1,800 ‡♠
Sold for £6,985
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232
Gio Ponti
Writing desk
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000 ‡
Sold for £5,715
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233
Max Ingrand
Table lamp, model no. 2206
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000 ‡
Sold for £9,525
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234
Fausto Melotti
'L'abbraccio'
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000 ‡♠
Sold for £40,640
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235No Reserve
Fausto Melotti
'Orchestra d'angeli'
Estimate £400 - 600 •‡♠
Sold for £2,794
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236
Carlo Scarpa
Plate
Estimate £800 - 1,200 ‡
Sold for £1,905
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237
Gio Ponti
Custom wall-mounted console
Estimate £7,000 - 9,000 ‡
Sold for £10,795
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238
Gio Ponti
Two prototype 'Tubi' flower holders
Estimate £1,000 - 1,500 ‡
Sold for £3,048
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239
Gio Ponti
Sketch with notes for a 'Venere degli stracci' figure
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000 ‡♠
Sold for £2,794
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240
Paolo Buffa
Set of four chairs
Estimate £1,500 - 2,500 ‡
Sold for £8,890
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241
Fulvio Bianconi
Carafe and set of twenty-four glasses
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000 ‡
Sold for £8,890
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242
Gio Ponti and Adriano Spilimbergo
Unique illuminated wardrobe with twelve integrated paintings
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000 ‡
Sold for £63,500
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243
Venini
Pair of 'Poliedri' ceiling lights
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000 ‡
Sold for £13,970
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244
Gio Ponti and Paolo De Poli
Rare vase
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ‡
Sold for £6,985
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245
Tomaso Buzzi
Bowl, model no. 3617
Estimate £400 - 600 ‡
Sold for £572
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246No Reserve
Fausto Melotti
Untitled
Estimate £1,000 - 1,500 •‡♠
Sold for £191
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247
Gio Ponti
Rare wall-mounted chest of drawers
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000 ‡
Sold for £43,180
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248
Tobia Scarpa
Two bowls
Estimate £1,200 - 1,800 ‡
Sold for £2,794
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249No Reserve
Tobia Scarpa
Large vase, model no. 8507
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000 •‡
Sold for £1,778
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250
Pablo Picasso
'Footballeur'
Estimate £8,000 - 12,000 ‡♠
Sold for £139,700
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251
Paolo De Poli
Vase and dish
Estimate £800 - 1,200 ‡
Sold for £1,016
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252
Fausto Melotti
Necklace
Estimate £1,800 - 2,400 ‡♠
Sold for £4,826
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253
Gio Ponti and Piero Zuffi
Unique bookcase with cabinets and integrated lithograph
Estimate £8,000 - 12,000 ‡
Sold for £53,340
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254
Paolo De Poli
Large 'Accordi su fondo rosso' dish
Estimate £1,500 - 2,500 ‡
Sold for £5,334
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255
Fulvio Bianconi
Set of twelve glasses
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000 ‡
Sold for £7,620
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256
Gio Ponti
Sketch for a fresco on the Scala del Sapere in Palazzo Bo, Padua
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000 ‡♠
Sold for £4,064
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257
Lucio Fontana
'Concetto spaziale'
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ‡♠
Sold for £53,340
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258
Carlo Scarpa
Two small vessels, model nos. 3552 and 3635
Estimate £300 - 500 ‡
Sold for £1,397
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259
Carlo Scarpa
Frame
Estimate £1,000 - 1,500 ‡
Sold for £2,413
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260
Fausto Melotti
Two bowls
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000 ‡♠
Sold for £6,985
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261
Gio Ponti
Prototype side table
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000 ‡
Sold for £27,940
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