From October 11, 2025 to March 2, 2026, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection presents Mani-Fattura: the ceramics of Lucio Fontana, the first solo exhibition ever held in a museum exclusively dedicated to the ceramic works of Lucio Fontana (1899–1968), one of the most innovative and irreverent artists of the 20th century. Although Fontana is mainly known for his iconic violently cut and pierced canvases from the 1950s and 1960s, this exhibition focuses on a lesser-known but essential part of his production: his work with clay, which began in Argentina in the 1920s and continued throughout his life. Curated by art historian Sharon Hecker, this is the first monographic exhibition to offer an in-depth examination of Fontana's ceramic production. As Hecker observes: "Long associated with craftsmanship rather than art, Fontana's ceramics are now receiving renewed attention thanks to the increased interest in this material in contemporary art."

With approximately 70 historical works, some of which have never been exhibited before, coming from prestigious public and private collections, the exhibition aims to shed light on Fontana's broad sculptural vision through the use of a material like clay, revealing how it represented, over the years, a rich and generative field of experimentation for the artist. His ceramic production stands out for the variety of forms, techniques, and subjects: from figurative works depicting women, marine animals, harlequins, and warriors, to abstract sculptures, his approach to clay recovers ancient rituals imposed by the material, on which he intervenes in innovative ways. His ceramic practice developed over decades and in very different contexts: from the early period in Argentina to the return to Italy during the Fascist era, followed by a further long stay in Argentina during the war, to the post-war period back in Italy and the country's reconstruction during the economic boom. Fontana also created objects for private interiors, from plates to crucifixes, fireplaces, and handles, often in collaboration with important designers. With renowned Milanese architects, he created ceramic friezes for building facades and sculptures for churches, schools, cinemas, hotels, sports clubs, and tombs that still adorn the city today. The exhibition will feature both unique handmade pieces and mass-produced objects, some of which blur the boundaries between the two categories. There will also be archive photographs depicting Fontana at work, a testament to the fundamental role of the hand in creating his ceramics and the intimate relationship he always had with the material.