Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES (Barcelona, 1923 - 2012).
"Jade", 1977.
Acrylic on radiography.
Work reproduced in the Catalogue Raisonné Vol. 4/ No. 3216.
Measurements: 34 x 30 cm; 46 x 40 cm (frame).
Eloquent example of the radical material and conceptual exploration that defined the mature production of the Catalan artist. Made in acrylic on radiography, the piece synthesizes some of Tàpies' central concerns: the poetic transformation of humble materials, the imprint of time on surfaces and the capacity of art to turn everyday or discarded objects into spaces of metaphysical reflection. The choice of an X-ray plate as a support is not anecdotal; it immediately introduces a corporeal and spectral dimension. Tàpies thus converts a material associated with medicine and scientific diagnosis into a plastic territory charged with existential resonances.
Formally, the work is situated within the informalist language that the artist developed since the late 1950s and consolidated internationally in the seventies. The surface appears eroded, burned, torn and altered by transparencies and accumulations of matter that generate a tension between fragility and density. The earthy, grey and ochre tones evoke processes of oxidation and wear, while the deformations of the support create an organic sensation. On this surface emerges a central black sign, executed with apparent gestural spontaneity, close to calligraphy or graffiti. This resource, frequent in Tàpies, functions as an open symbolic writing, a mark that does not communicate a literal meaning but a mental and physical energy. The title, "Jade", also introduces an allusive dimension: the oriental precious stone associated with purity, permanence and spirituality contrasts with the precariousness of the radiographic support.
Antoni Tàpies is one of the leading figures of European art in the second half of the 20th century and the leading exponent of informalism in Spain. Co-founder of the Dau al Set group, he developed his own language based on material-gestural experimentation, integrating signs, graphics and symbolic elements with a strong spiritual and existential charge. His work is present in institutions such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), the MACBA (Barcelona) or the Fondation Maeght (Saint-Paul-de-Vence), among many others. Awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale and the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, his graphic production constitutes a fundamental chapter in his career and maintains a solid demand in the international market.