6. The legacy of Futurism

This section presents works by artists of the second half of the 20th century who paid an ideal but tangible, and on occasion explicit, tribute to Futurism.
We thus come to Lucio Fontana’s “spatialism”, which was inspired by the “art of space” theorized by Marinetti, and sprang from his early contact with Futurist aeropainting theories. In Rome, Alberto Burri looked particularly to Prampolini and polimaterismo.
The “visual poetry” movement offered new versions of the Futurist art/action concept, also revisiting Paroliberismo, while Piero Dorazio and Mario Schifano looked specifically to Balla, creating compositions inspired by the master’s early paintings.

ALBERTO BURRI, Senza titolo, 1957
Carta, catrame, acrilico, combustione su cartone; 33x37 cm
Firenze, Collezione privata

NANNI BALESTRINI, Contro il pericolo, 1961
Collage su cartoncino; 42x60 cm
Collezione Letizia Paolozzi

LUCIO FONTANA, Concetto spaziale 51 B 17, 1951
Olio e sabbia su tela. blu, argento; 60x59 cm
Milano, Fondazione Lucio Fontana