BARCELONA.- The Fundació Antoni Tąpies presents a new selection of works from the Collection that takes as its starting point the work entitled Fusta pintada i rascada (Painted and Scraped Wood), 1960. The work, which is part of the artist’s own Collection, has been lent to the Fundació and will be publicly shown for the first time. Together with the other works in the present selection, the work will demonstrate the importance of materials for the artist. Tąpies often chooses torn or scraped papers, an unfolded box, a faded tarlatan, or a piece of wood, as the main subjects of his work. In such cases, the artist hardly intervenes, as if wanting to preserve the objectivity of matter, while at the same time leaving his own imprint and incorporating his own language. Thus, we also find the colours, the scrapes, the writing and the gestures that keep reappearing in his work. The selection offers a chronological survey from the forties to the present, paying special attention to each of his creative periods with works that emphasise the supremacy of matter, such as Capsa de cordills (Box of Strings), 1946; Collage del paper moneda (Collage of Bank Notes), 1951; Ratlles i emprentes (Lines and Prints), 1956; the artist’s book El pa a la barca (Bread in the Boat), 1963; Cartó amb T negra (Cardboard with Black T), 2000; and Matčria i cartons (Matter and Cardboards), 2006, among others.

Antoni Tąpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tąpies [ənˈtɔni ˈtapjəs i puʧ] (born in Barcelona, 13 December 1923) is a Catalan painter. He is one of the most famous European artists of his generation. After studying law for 3 years, he devoted himself from 1943 onwards only to his painting. He is perhaps the best-known Catalan artist to emerge in the period since the Second World War.

His international reputation was well established by the end of the 50s. From the late 50s to early 60s, Tąpies worked with Enrique Tįbara, Antonio Saura, Manolo Millares and many other Spanish Informalist artists. From about 1970 (influenced by Pop art) he began incorporating more substantial objects into his paintings, such as parts of furniture. Tąpies's ideas have had worldwide influence on art, especially in the realms of painting, sculpture, etchings and lithography. Examples of his work are found in numerous major international collections. His work is associated with both Tachisme and Abstract Expressionism.

Fundació Tąpies, in Barcelona, is a museum dedicated to his life and work. He currently is living in Barcelona and is represented by The Pace Gallery in New York.


With information from Wikipedia.org