20th century Italian art hits boom time - but public doesn't know

New York

WHEN a work by Lucio Fontana sold at Christie's New York last month for US$29.2 million, it was the highest price that the artist had ever achieved at auction. The giant, canary-yellow canvas was the latest in a string of broken records: five of Fontana's top 10 auction sales of all time were in 2015, according to Artnet.

In one respect, Fontana's rise should surprise few familiar with the art world. Twentieth century Italian art, which includes the recently wildly popular postwar Arte Povera movement, has been on a boom for close to a decade. In fact, in October, sales in London dedicated specifically to 20th century Italian art at Christie's and Sotheby's did so well that there can be few doubts about the movement's ascendancy.