Lucio Fontana's Ceramics Precede His Slashed Canvases

An exhibition at Galerie Karsten Greve in Paris reveals that Lucio Fontana's iconic slashed canvases were preceded by decades of ceramic work. The show, running until June 27, 2026, gathers Fontana's ceramics from the 1930s to 1960, including Torso Italico (1938), Coccodrillo (1936-37), Battaglia (1947), and early Concetti spaziali in clay. These works show Fontana perforating and slashing clay before transferring the gesture to canvas. The exhibition ends with the Natura series from the late 1950s—slashed spherical terracottas inspired by space exploration. Fontana's 1946 Manifiesto Blanco stated, "the painting must leave its frame," a concept literalized in his ceramics.