Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein and Günther Uecker in a great show at Skarstedt definitely worth a visit.
Rejecting established modes of representation, the works featured in the exhibition exemplify the artists’ shared quest for a new beginning in art, as in life; one that could respond to a social reality filled with potential and new technological advances in the aftermath of World War II. Through their use of destructive methods of production, be it burning, cutting or nailing, the artists challenge the notion of flatness as a condition of painting to give way to a new creative freedom by opening up the picture plane to space, light and movement.
Installation shots Günther Uecker (b.1930), New York Dancer IV, 1965, nails, cloth, metal and electrical motor
Distinguishing the exhibition from previous surveys on this group of artists, Burning, Cutting, Nailing is focused on select monochromatic works that also address the theme in practice. The result is a thoughtfully curated exhibition of Lucio Fontana’s red and white ‘cut’ or tagli paintings as well as his metal paintings in copper and aluminium; Günther Uecker’s white nail paintings and Yves Klein’s abstract ‘fire paintings’.
Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale, Attese, 1964 water-based paint on canvas? 19 7/8 x 20 1?4 in. (50.5 x 51.5cm.)© Fondazione Lucio Fontana. Private collection, courtesy of Galleria Mucciaccia.
By focusing on these blocks of colour, the material qualities of the paintings are brought to the foreground and the dynamism of each artist’s singular practice is reinforced by the repetition of colour and technique.
On Until – 31 July 2015 Skarstedt, 23 Old Bond Street, London
Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale, 1964 copper with lacerations and graffiti 32 5/8 x 22 7/8 in. (83 x 58 cm.) © Fondazione Lucio Fontana. Private collection, courtesy of Galleria Mucciaccia.
