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The role that Lucio Fontana played as a pioneer and comrade-in-arms for the ZERO group of artists and their circle can be seen in this work 'o. T. (Hommage à Fontana)' from 1963, a cross-genre collaboration that combines the creative forces of Fontana's artists and friends Jef Verheyen (1932-1984) and Hermann Goepfert (1926-1982). The centrepiece is a monochrome blue painting by Verheyen. But this painting is more than just a surface of colour: it is permeated by the characteristic 'buchi' - small perforations that made Fontana famous.
These holes, arranged in two large circles, give the canvas a certain permeability. But that's not all: in front of the circles hang two three-dimensional metal objects created by Hermann Goepfert. These elongated objects consist of metal strips that also contain circles. Depending on the lighting and movement, they cast different shadows on the canvas, constantly changing the perception of the work. The canvas is not experienced as a closed space, but as a permeable medium that plays with light and shadow and is constantly changing.

Jef Verheyen was known for his numerous collaborative works, in which he brought together different artistic genres and companions. Those interested in learning more about his monochrome paintings can currently view his works in the exhibition 'Gegen den Himmel. Contre le ciel, Jef Verheyen, Johanna von Monkiewitsch' at the Museum Morsbroich in Leverkusen.
Verheyen described his first visit to Lucio Fontana's studio in his diary in February 1958: 'I visited Fontana today. A handsome old man [sic] stood at the door of an old baroque house to greet us. We walked straight through a big courtyard (I must have one of those one day, but smaller) into a big park, le chique. There was a lot of giggling behind the door. The studio was full of models, everywhere, wearing pink, blue and mauve flowery dresses, there were glasses and bottles of champagne on the tables, a photographer was busy taking pictures of the whole mess for some fashion magazine. In the middle of this bazaar, Fontana showed me his work. Even in his most progressive pieces, there was a part of this crazy atmosphere, a certain mix of glamour and seriousness. After ten minutes I had it in my hands. It was the most sophisticated work I had ever seen. Pieces of glass, all the colours on top of each other, on canvases with holes. What an effect. Sometimes just a coloured canvas, red or blue, with holes made in a certain way, until a play of light, space, cosmic space is created, which captivates you. I couldn't stop looking at all the broken glass. It is magical. It draws you in, where? Yes, perhaps into its consciousness, which has probably not aged a day since it was born. Big white pictures, with holes that cast shadows, and black scratches here and there, reminiscent of snow, or air, or finally, I don't know what. He showed me everything and told me that he was happy with my (stupid) painting, which he had bought at my exhibition.