Lucio Fontana

Known for: slashed and punctured monochrome canvases; Concetti Spaziali

Lucio Fontana founded Spatialism — a movement proposing that art should transcend the limits of the two-dimensional surface — and put the theory into practice by slashing and puncturing his canvases, creating the works he called Concetti Spaziali (Spatial Concepts). His slashed monochromes, made with a single gesture of a razor or knife, redefined what a canvas could be and anticipated minimalism and Arte Povera. He was born in Argentina and trained in Milan, working between Buenos Aires and Italy throughout his career.