Pulsating with metaphysical tension and theatrical fervour, Concetto spaziale, Attese from 1968 stands as an exceptional example of Lucio Fontana’s celebrated tagli series; a pioneering body of work first embarked upon in the autumn of 1958 that continues to define critical discourse within the canon of twentieth century art history. Within Fontana’s universe, the colour red conveys a heightened state of emotion, connoting life, death, force, and transcendence, establishing an immersive visual stage against which four precise cuts appear, three uniform slashes punctuated by a fourth escaping towards the upper left quadrant. The slender and measured incisions slice through our perception to unveil an unseen expanse that exists simultaneously within and beyond the canvas. A fascination with the unknowable void is summated by the mesmerising effect of Fontana’s defined slashes. As outlined by the artist:

The delicate balance between mastery and spontaneity is central to the tagli: the final result is a rare quality of suspended immediacy; further heightened by the intervals between the slashes, arranged in a rhythmic cadence that orchestrates a compelling interplay of presence and absence. As the eye traverses the untouched crimson and the black recesses, the total composition hums with palpable tension and an aura of unbounded possibility.

Embodying the full force of Fontana’s spatial exploration, the present work, striking in its choreographed dynamism and illustrious crimson veil, reveals the artist’s profound engagement with painting as a portal towards the infinite and the celestial. Crystallising Fontana’s enduring project of Spatialism, a notion first articulated in his Manifesto Bianco of 1946, the tagli visually articulates a philosophy that championed a fourth dimension within art and perception. By the late 1950s, Fontana had begun physically slicing the canvas to embody his theory, forging a new dimension that transcended the two dimensional picture plane. To create the tagli, Fontana used a Stanley knife to cleanly cut in a singular descending gesture through his still-damp canvases. Inserting his fingers in each perforation to widen the cuts, Fontana encouraged each band of freshly incised canvas to curl inwards, accentuating an impression of endless depth. The crisp fissures of Concetto spaziale, Attese are thus imbued with the artist’s unbridled enthusiasm for space as ineffable and infinite yet brimming with the promise of uncharted and boundless discovery. Through such an audacious and rebelliously ferocious gesture, Fontana unveiled a profound metaphysical depth, prompting viewers to contemplate not only the surface, but that which is beyond our comprehension.

The year 1968 was marked by an exhilarating era in technological advancement, when humanity’s exploration of the cosmos reached new heights. By this moment, the Soviet Union had launched numerous successful missions, including the first manned spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin in 1961, and by 1968, the Soviet space programme was advancing with plans for a Moon landing. In 1968, the United States had made momentous strides, particularly through the Apollo programme: astronauts had completed Earth-orbital missions, while Apollo 7 tested critical technologies in preparation for a lunar voyage. Against this politically charged backdrop, Fontana’s tagli gained renewed urgency: a cosmic portal through which the artist reshaped painting to resonate with the era’s deep fascination with uncharted frontiers. A notion further punctuated by the playful inscription on the reverse of the canvas: “Dear friends the world is not square.” By penetrating the surface, Fontana mirrored society’s quest to breach boundaries once deemed insurmountable, forging an artistic language able to illustrate the evolving horizons and existential questions raised by outer space and our place in the universe.

Drawing upon codified artistic and theoretical lineages only to cast them to history; Fontana’s tagli engenders an ever-palpable present, in which the impression of severity and radicality are immortalised. “Art dies,” Fontana wrote in 1948, “but is saved by gesture.” (the artist quoted in: Exh. Cat., New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Lucio Fontana 1899-1968: A Retrospective, 1977, p. 19). Radiating with an electric luminescence and composed at the very height of his artistic powers, Concetto spaziale, Attese exemplifies Fontana’s pioneering aesthetic in which pigment, action painting and an urgency for the unknown triumphantly converge. The present work’s resonant red and four incisive slashes assert a bold redefinition of the limits of painting and humanity at large, compelling the viewer to envision a world that extends beyond visible reality. Concetto spaziale, Attese remains an utter triumph of invention, representing a catalytic shift in twentieth century artmaking.