Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES (Barcelona, 1923–2012).
Untitled (Nocturn Matinal), 1970.
Lithograph on Guarro paper, print no. 91/100.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Design created for the poster of the exhibition “Nocturn Matinal,” Sala Gaspar, Barcelona, 1970.
Published by Sala Gaspar, Barcelona.
Bibliography: Mariuccia Galfetti, Tàpies. Graphic Works 1947–1972, Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 1973, no. 246, p. 153.
Measurements: 76 x 55.5 cm.

This lithograph dates from the height of Tàpies’s artistic maturity and is associated with the “Nocturn Matinal” exhibition held at Sala Gaspar in Barcelona. The composition contrasts large black brushstrokes, with a pronounced gestural presence, against a much lighter pattern of blue graphic elements, leaving large areas of the paper untouched. This tension between gesture, mark, and void is one of the key elements of the language developed by the artist during these years.

The lithographic technique allows him to transfer the energy and spontaneity of his painting onto paper, from the density of the black masses to the almost calligraphic quality of the blue lines. Writing and image thus merge on a surface where the signs do not offer a literal reading but function as traces open to multiple associations. The work also reflects the importance that printmaking, books, and collaboration with writers acquired in Tàpies’s career, which was particularly intense around 1970.

Antoni Tàpies was one of the key figures in European art of the second half of the 20th century and one of the leading representatives of Informalism. As a co-founder of Dau al Set, he pursued a radical exploration of matter, sign, and writing that achieved international recognition early on. Among other honors, he received the UNESCO Prize at the Venice Biennale, the Praemium Imperiale, and the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, and was the subject of major international retrospectives. His work is widely represented in institutions such as MoMA, the Guggenheim Museum, the Centre Pompidou, the Reina Sofía Museum, and MACBA.