Lucio Fontana's Concetto Spaziale set for $2.2m auction

Lucio Fontana's Concetto Spaziale (1960), valued at £1m-1.4m ($1.6m-2.2m), is to lead a sale of 20th century Italian art at Sotheby's London on October 17.

Fontana was the founder of spatialism, a mystic art movement that sought to transcend the boundaries of painting by deconstructing the canvas itself, usually by slashing or stabbing it - transforming the 2D plain into a sculpture.

Fontana Concetto Spaziale
 Fontana's Concetto Spaziale has been exhibited widely in Europe and the US

The painting features thick and vibrant yellow oils set with a pattern of holes and slashes.

Works by the Italian artist have sold for impressive figures in the past. His Concetto Spaziale, Le Chiese de Vienna made $6.8m at Sotheby's earlier this year.

Marino Marini's L'Idea Del Cavalier (1955) will feature at the sale with an estimate of £800,000-1.2m ($1.2m-1.9m).

The sculpture was partially inspired by Marini's study of Etruscan and Roman sculptures featuring riders on horseback, and represents the concept simplified to its bare essentials.

Marini Cavalier Sotheby's
 Marini's sculpture is one of an edition of nine

The work once featured in the collection of actress Kathleen Walsh, who starred in David Lean's adaptations of In Which We Serve, and This Happy Breed.

Giorgio Morandi's Natura Morta is one of an important series of 10 still life paintings executed by the artist in 1952, and carries an estimate of £700,000-900,000 ($1.1m-1.4m).

Morandi was well known for his subtly complex still life paintings featuring simple, everyday objects such as vases, bowls and cloths.  

Another of the 10 works from the Natura Morta series sold for £802,850 ($1.4m) at Christie's London in 2008.

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