The exhibition Lucio Fontana: Expectation at the Von der Heydt Museum brings Fontana's complex body of work to life in all its facets. For the first time, it also honors the close and creative collaboration between the Italian artist and Lothar Wolleh, which holds a special place in art history.

Since the early 1960s, Lothar Wolleh devoted himself intensively to his series of artist portraits, an iconic collection featuring numerous significant figures of the art world. Lucio Fontana was one of the first artists Wolleh portrayed for this project in 1963. Their encounter marked the beginning of an extraordinary friendship that went far beyond a purely professional relationship. Wolleh visited Fontana in Milan a total of 13 times to engage in artistic exchange and collaborative projects.

Collaborations & limited Editions

One particularly notable result of their collaboration is a limited-edition object they conceived together in 1966–67. This exclusive box set merges photography and visual art into a unique unity. Both artists contributed four elements each, resulting in a work that not only reflects their individual forms of expression but also their artistic symbiosis. This object is also showcased in the exhibition, highlighting the innovative power and close bond between Wolleh and Fontana.

The exhibition invites viewers to rediscover this special relationship between photography and visual art and to experience the creative energy unleashed by the collaboration of these two outstanding artists.