Fontana · Leoncillo

The exhibition stems from the participation of these two artists at the XXVII Venice Biennale, which marks a turning point in both their careers.

The comparison between these artists aims to confirm Leoncillo’s primacy in the history of world sculpture and to measure the vast scope of his research, the density of a tormented and rich course as well as the ability to inspire reflection and thoughts even today. Instead, Fontana shows a more radical ambition to elaborate volumes, surpass matter, build around emptiness, and create space. Through overlappings and comparisons, this show strives to highlight Fontana’s sculptural two-dimensional meditations, in parallel with the painting approach of Leoncillo’s sculptures which transitions from representational to informal in comparison with the pure materialness of Fontana’s Nature (1959–60).