Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES PUIG (Barcelona, 1923–2012)
“Poems from the Catalan.”
Lithograph on paper. Copy D. Standard edition of 75 copies + 7 artist’s proofs numbered with letters from A to G.
Signed and inscribed in pencil.
Measurements: 75 x 55 cm; 93 x 73 cm (frame).
The work shown here is a lithograph by Antoni Tàpies dedicated to his close friend and collaborator, the poet Joan Brossa. The friendship between Tàpies and Brossa began in November 1946 and lasted for more than forty years. Together they founded the group and magazine *Dau al Set* in 1948, a pivotal milestone in the revival of the avant-garde in postwar Spain. The piece features the name “BROSSA” crossed by a line of barbed wire, a recurring element in Tàpies’s work that alludes to oppression, struggle, and political resistance.
Antoni Tàpies is one of the leading figures in European art of the second half of the 20th century and the foremost exponent of Informalism in Spain. A co-founder of the Dau al Set group, he developed his own artistic language based on material and gestural experimentation, integrating signs, graphic elements, and symbolic motifs with strong spiritual and existential significance. His work is held in institutions such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), the MACBA (Barcelona), and the Fondation Maeght (Saint-Paul-de-Vence), among many others. A recipient of the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale and the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, his graphic work constitutes a fundamental chapter in his career and remains in high demand on the international market.