Antoni Tàpies and Joan Brossa

ANTONI TÀPIES (Barcelona, 1923–2012) and JOAN BROSSA (Barcelona, 1919–1998).
“Frègoli,” 1969.
Artist’s book with texts by Joan Brossa and graphic interventions by Antoni Tàpies.
Copy A.G., one of the seven non-commercial copies listed in the colophon.
Verified and signed in pencil by Joan Brossa and Antoni Tàpies.
Published by Sala Gaspar, Barcelona.
Publisher’s binding in red velvet.
Measurements: 37 x 28 x 2.5 cm.

“Frègoli” is one of the most representative publishing projects resulting from the collaboration between Brossa and Tàpies, two central figures in the postwar Catalan artistic renewal. Published in 1969, the book is linked to their shared interest in theater, transformation, and the mechanisms of representation. Its title refers to Leopoldo Fregoli, the famous Italian actor and quick-change artist whose ability to successively embody multiple characters particularly fascinated Brossa and formed part of the theatrical imagination that both artists explored.

Text and image do not function here as separate illustrations and commentary, but rather as parts of a single visual experience: typography, poetry, graphic design, and highly gestural marks follow one another throughout the volume. The project was presented at Sala Gaspar as part of the exhibition “Tàpies. Frègoli,” held between November and December 1969, which brought together the book alongside the artist’s lithographs, tapestries, and paintings.

Antoni Tàpies was one of the leading figures in European art of the second half of the 20th century, internationally recognized for his radical exploration of matter, sign, and writing. He exhibited at institutions such as MoMA, the Guggenheim Museum, the Centre Pompidou, and the Reina Sofía Museum, and in 1984 he founded the Fundació Antoni Tàpies. Joan Brossa, a poet, playwright, and visual artist, was a co-founder of Dau al Set and made language, visual poetry, magic, and theater the central pillars of a body of work that was pivotal to the postwar Catalan avant-garde.