Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES (Barcelona, 1923–2012).
“Fulla i tres,” 1987.
Color etching and carborundum with paper collage on Arches paper, print no. 26/75.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Published by Grafos Verlag AG and printed by J. Barbarà, Barcelona.
Bibliography: Núria Homs, Antoni Tàpies. Obra Gráfica / Graphic Work 1987–1994, Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 2009, ref. 1116.
Measurements: 30 x 50 cm (print); 56 x 64 cm (paper).

Part of a limited edition of 75 copies, “Fulla i tres” is a fine example of the technical complexity achieved by Tàpies in his mature graphic work, where the print ceases to be an exclusively two-dimensional surface and incorporates material and added elements. The artist combines etching and carborundum—which lend density and texture to the broad black lines—with collage, extending techniques characteristic of his pictorial exploration into printmaking.

The composition juxtaposes the forceful gestural quality of the black forms with more fragile and recognizable elements: a leaf incorporated via collage and the number three, reduced to a graphic symbol. Matter, writing, numbers, and natural objects thus coexist in the same space, following a constant theme in Tàpies’s language: bestowing expressive value on seemingly elementary signs and materials. The earth-toned background, marked by scrapes and irregularities, reinforces that appearance of an eroded surface so characteristic of his work.

Antoni Tàpies was one of the leading figures of European Informalism and a co-founder of Dau al Set in 1948. His career soon took on an international dimension and was recognized, among other awards, with the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts in 1990 and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1993. His work is part of collections such as those of MoMA in New York, the Tate in London, and the Reina Sofía Museum, as well as the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona.