Antoni Clavé

ANTONI CLAVÉ I SANMARTÍ (Barcelona, 1913 - Saint Tropez, France, 2005).
"Return from Japan". 1986.
Mixed media and collage on thick cardboard.
Signed and dated.
Certificate attached.
Measurements: 67 x 40 cm. 80 x 54 cm (frame).

In the eighties, Clavé deepens in collage as an autonomous language and in the integration of diverse cultural references within a fully personal plastic syntax.

The composition articulates superimposed planes, torn papers and adhered materials that generate a balance between gesture and structure. The central fragment -with graphic resonances and seals of oriental inspiration- introduces an explicit evocation of the Japanese imaginary, while the large black spots and the vibrant red line provide tension and dynamism. The upper zone, with grayish glazes and a yellowish organic form, dialogues with the European informalist tradition, fusing Eastern spirituality and Western material-gestural expressiveness.

Antoni Clavé developed a career deeply marked by his experience in the Civil War and his subsequent exile to France. In Paris he came into contact with Vuillard, Bonnard and, especially, Picasso, whose influence was decisive in his evolution towards a personal language that fuses collage, matter and symbolism. Awarded prizes at the New York Hallmark (1948), the Venice Biennial (1954) and the Tokyo International Biennial (1957), he consolidated his international prestige before his recognition in Spain, which began with his exhibition at the Sala Gaspar in 1956.

His work, present in institutions such as the Tate Gallery, the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao or the Reina Sofia Museum, is today considered fundamental in the renewal of Spanish art of the twentieth century.