Antoni Clavé

ANTONI CLAVÉ I SANMARTÍ (Barcelona, 1913 - Saint Tropez, France, 2005)
"Carmen".
Painting and collage on canvas.
Signed and dedicated in the lower right corner.
Attached certificate signed by Archives Clavé.
Measurements: 77 x 56 cm; 81 x 60 cm (frame).

This work is a representative example of Antoni Clavé's plastic language, in which painting and collage converge in a composition of great material richness. The surface is articulated by superimposing elements, textures and signs, generating a complex space in which abstraction and figurative suggestions coexist.

The use of chromatic hallmarks reinforces the visual intensity of the piece, while the incorporation of materials and graphics provides a tactile and constructive dimension characteristic of his production. The work refers to his interest in the transformation of the figure into a sign, as well as the evocation of literary and theatrical themes.

Antoni Clavé's career was deeply marked by his experience in the Civil War and his subsequent exile to France. In Paris he came into contact with 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.