Antoni Clavé

ANTONI CLAVÉ (Barcelona, 1913 – Saint-Tropez, 2005).
“Catalog Cover,” 1970.
Color lithograph on paper, print no. 18/100.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Part of a set of six original lithographs created for the catalog *Clavé. Painting, Collage, Tapestry, Sculpture, Lithography*, Sala Gaspar, Barcelona, 1970.
Measurements: 47 x 58 cm.

The work belongs to a period of Clavé’s full artistic maturity, coinciding with his exhibition at Sala Gaspar in Barcelona and with the transformation of his earlier figures of kings and warriors into an increasingly autonomous language of signs, marks, and fragmented forms. The composition juxtaposes an intense red field with black forms of organic and mechanical appearance, rendered through splotches, imprints, and circular modules. The lithograph enhances this dialogue between flat masses and more accidental gestures, reflecting the essential role that printmaking played in his artistic explorations.

Antoni Clavé was one of the Spanish artists with the greatest international prominence in the second half of the 20th century, with a career spanning painting, sculpture, collage, set design, and printmaking. Settled in France since 1939, he soon achieved international recognition and participated in major exhibitions in Europe and the Americas. In 1956, he won the UNESCO Prize for Printmaking at the Venice Biennale, and in 1978, the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris dedicated a major retrospective to him. In 1984, he represented Spain at the Venice Biennale with an extensive solo exhibition. His work is held in institutions such as the Reina Sofía Museum, the Tate, and the British Museum.