Giacometti and Fontana Dialogue on Matter and Space at Florence's Palazzo Vecchio

The Museo di Palazzo Vecchio in Florence hosts 'Giacometti/Fontana. La ricerca dell’assoluto', a comparative exhibition exploring the artistic practices of Lucio Fontana (1899–1968) and Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966). Curated by Chiara Gatti and Sergio Risaliti, the show runs until June 4, 2023. Despite their contrasting styles—Fontana's interest in volumes and rough materials versus Giacometti's dark, attenuated forms—both artists share an obsession with the invisible and the absolute, working matter to reveal space and existence. In the Sala delle Udienze, Fontana's painted terracotta pieces and Giacometti's bronzes are juxtaposed. The Sala dei Gigli features Fontana's 'Concetti spaziali. Natura', irregular spheres perforated with holes, evoking primordial forms. Giacometti's threadlike figures on pedestals, such as 'Paulette' (1938) and 'Signorina seduta' (1934), convey human solitude and the precariousness of life. The exhibition also contextualizes their work within the 1940s–1960s, highlighting Fontana's return to classicism and Giacometti's focus on the individual's anxieties.