Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES (Barcelona, 1923–2012).
Untitled. Suite Series, 1981.
Lithograph in multiple inks. Print no. 6/90.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Measurements: 62.5 x 90 cm.
The composition exhibits a marked economy of means: against the white background of the paper, material forms in shades of ochre unfold—footprints, a central mark of intense red, and delicate linear strokes—forming an open space in which gesture and the imprint of the body take on a central role.
The imprints, so central to Tàpies’s imagery, introduce a physical and human dimension to the work. It is not merely a matter of representing the body, but of leaving its trace, transforming the surface of the paper into a kind of territory where the signs of a presence remain. This interest in imprints, wear and tear, material, and the mark constitutes one of the fundamental aspects of Tàpies’s work during the 1970s and 1980s.
Tàpies took up drawing and painting at a very young age, and during the 1940s he came into contact with the European avant-garde and contemporary thought. In 1948, he was one of the founders of the Dau al Set group. Throughout his career, he held exhibitions around the world, in prominent galleries and museums such as the Guggenheim in New York and the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. His awards include the Prince of Asturias Award, the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association, the National Culture Award, the Grand Prize for Painting in France, among others, and retrospective exhibitions have been dedicated to him in Tokyo, New York, Rome, Amsterdam, Madrid, Venice, Milan, Vienna, and Brussels. His works are represented in major national and international museums, such as the foundation that bears his name in Barcelona, the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Guggenheims in Berlin, Bilbao, and New York, the Fukuoka Art Museum in Japan, MoMA in New York, and the Tate Gallery in London.