1899-1968
Born in Rosario, Argentina, to Italian parents, Fontana moved between the two countries throughout his life. In 1946 he set out the principles of Spazialismo, arguing that art had to move past the flat surface and into space and time.
The consequence arrived in 1949: the first perforated canvases, followed a decade later by the cuts. A single slash opens the picture plane and admits real depth behind it, ending the illusion painting had maintained for five centuries. He worked in parallel as a ceramicist throughout his career. He died in Comabbio in 1968.
