Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES PUIG (Barcelona, 1923 - 2012).
"Quatre franges", 1975.
Etching and carborundum engraving, HC copy.
Signed and justified.
Measurements: 43.5 x 63 cm (footprint); 57 x 77 cm (paper); 71 x 41.5 cm (frame).

Graphic work belonging to Antoni Tàpies' mature stage, in which the artist develops a visual language based on the combination of spontaneous gestures, symbolic signs and material surfaces. The composition is articulated by means of wide vertical stripes that structure the pictorial space and that, in a suggestive way, may evoke the four stripes of the Catalan flag, a motif also alluded to in the title of the work.

The use of etching and carborundum allows Tàpies to obtain intense hallmarks and dense textures that evoke the materiality of his painting.

Antoni Tàpies is one of the leading figures of European art in the second half of the 20th century and the leading exponent of informalism in Spain. Co-founder of the Dau al Set group, he developed his own language based on material-gestural experimentation, integrating signs, graphics and symbolic elements with a strong spiritual and existential charge.

His work is present in institutions such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), the MACBA (Barcelona) or the Fondation Maeght (Saint-Paul-de-Vence), among many others. Awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale and the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, his graphic production constitutes a fundamental chapter in his career and maintains a solid demand in the international market.