Antoni Clavé

ANTONI CLAVÉ I SANMARTÍ (Barcelona, 1913 – Saint-Tropez, France, 2005).
“Fruits Noir et Rouge,” 1969.
Oil on canvas.
Certificate of authenticity issued by Archives Clavé is attached.
Bears a label from the Taménaga Gallery (Tokyo) on the reverse.
Signed in the lower right corner. Signed, dated, and titled on the reverse.
Measurements: 76 x 110 cm; 89 x 124 cm (frame).
In this work, the title alludes to a figurative motif; however, it is reinterpreted from a profoundly abstract perspective. Far from naturalistic representation, Clavé transforms the subject into a visual structure dominated by the contrast between black and red, two colors that in his late-1960s work take on a strong expressive charge. Red is associated with vitality and energy, while black introduces density, depth, and an almost tactile dimension to the pictorial surface.
This period coincides with the consolidation of the so-called “language of matter” in the artist’s work. Influenced by European Informalism and the aesthetics of the found object, Clavé incorporates fragments, textures, and traces into his compositions that give the painting a physical and almost sculptural character. The surface ceases to be a mere support and becomes an active space where time, memory, and the experience of the gesture are inscribed.
Fruits Noir et Rouge also fits into an international context of great prominence for the artist, who was based in Paris and widely recognized on the European art scene. During these years, his work was characterized by a growing formal synthesis and a compositional freedom that allowed him to oscillate between evoked figuration and total abstraction. The result is a visual universe of intense visual power, in which objects dissolve in favor of their chromatic and material essence.
Antoni Clavé trained at the School of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi in Barcelona and began his career in graphic design, illustration, and the decorative arts. After the Civil War, he went into exile in France and settled in Paris, where he came into contact with artists such as Vuillard, Bonnard, and Picasso. Beginning in 1954, he devoted himself fully to painting, evolving toward an increasingly material, symbolic language close to Informalism. His work is represented in institutions such as the Reina Sofía Museum, the Tate Gallery, the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, and the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.