Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES PUIG (Barcelona, 1923-2012).
"Nou variacions sobre tres gravats de 1947-1948".
Complete folder.
Nine etchings on Guarro paper and watermark, copy 43/50.
Ed. Sala Gaspar, 1966.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Measurements: 60 x 41 cm.
The engravings collected in this folder form a valuable corpus of Tàpies' surrealist period. Immersed in psychic investigations that materialised in rich symbolism and alchemical emblems of his own personal style, in this period prior to Informalism, the artist was influenced by Paul Klee and Joan Miró. At the same time, the fruitful synergies established with the other members of Dau al Set, a group that was emerging at the time, were evident in his work. Although a figuration of arcane power dominates his work, some of his engravings reveal a turn towards abstraction (the crosses now emerge in his symbolic forest). Works include: "Barret de copa imantat", "Les Banyes del So", "En moral i amb una aspa blanca", "En bistre", "Negatiu amb dues creus", among others.
Co-founder of "Dau al Set" in 1948, Tàpies began to exhibit at the Salones de Octubre in Barcelona, as well as at the Salón de los Once held in Madrid in 1949. After his first solo exhibition at the Galerías Layetanas, he travels to Paris in 1950, with a grant from the Institut Français. In 1953 he had a solo exhibition at Martha Jackson's gallery in New York. From then on, he exhibited his work, both in group and solo shows, all over the world, in leading galleries and museums such as the Guggenheim in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. Since the 1970s, anthologies have been devoted to him in Tokyo, New York, Rome, Amsterdam, Madrid, Venice, Milan, Vienna and Brussels. Self-taught, Tàpies created his own style within the avant-garde art of the 20th century, combining tradition and innovation in an abstract style full of symbolism, giving great importance to the material substratum of the work. It is worth noting the marked spiritual sense given by the artist to his work, where the material support transcends its state to signify a profound analysis of the human condition. Tàpies' work has been highly valued internationally, being exhibited in the most prestigious museums in the world. Throughout his career he has received numerous prizes and distinctions, including the Praemium Imperiale of Japan, the National Culture Prize, the Grand Prix for Painting in France, the Wolf Foundation for the Arts (1981), the Gold Medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya (1983), the Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts (1990), the Picasso Medal of Unesco (1993) and the Velázquez Prize for the Plastic Arts (2003). Antoni Tàpies is represented in major museums all over the world, such as the foundation that bears his name in Barcelona, the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Guggenheim in Berlin, Bilbao and New York, the Fukoka Art Museum in Japan, the MoMA in New York and the Tate Gallery in London.