Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES (Barcelona, 1923 - 2012).
"Matiére du soufflé", 1991.
Etching aquatint on Japan paper adhered to paper. Exemplary P. E.
Blue ink stamp "TB Editions Barcelona" on the back.
Measurements: 93,5 x 64 cm.
The cross is one of the most recurrent and significant symbols in Antoni Tàpies' work. Beyond its traditional religious association, Tàpies used this sign as a plastic and conceptual element of great symbolic ambiguity. In his compositions, the cross functions simultaneously as mark, sign, gesture and spatial structure, integrated within material surfaces that refer to wear and tear, memory and the physical experience of time.Influenced by existentialism, Eastern philosophy and non-dogmatic spirituality, the artist transformed the cross into a universal symbol linked to the human condition, suffering and reflection on transcendence.

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.