Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES (Barcelona, 1923 - 2012).
"Arrow", 1990.
Etching and aquatint with acrylic intervention by the artist. Copy 94/100.
Enclosed certificate issued by G.L Contemporary Fine Art.
Framed in museum glass.
Signed and justified by the artist.
Measurements: 53 x 68 cm (print); 73,5 x 100 cm (paper); 91 x 117 cm (frame).
Made around the end of the eighties, the piece presents characteristic elements of his production: dense surfaces, gestural marks, traces and symbols that turn the support into an almost archaeological field of inscription. In the center of the composition appears the arrow, a recurring motif in Tàpies' imaginary, which acts as a sign charged with multiple resonances. Beyond its formal simplicity, this element introduces a directional tension that suggests impulse, energy and orientation, functioning as a vector that crosses the materiality of the work. In its ambiguity, the arrow can be interpreted both in a spiritual key, as a search or transcendence, and in a more political or existential plane, in line with the artist's concerns. Tàpies manages to transform a universal symbol into a complex plastic reflection, in which matter and sign merge to explore the tensions between the individual and the historical.
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.