SPAIN, 1923 - 2012
Antoni Tapies
Central to Antoni Tàpies' work is the use of texture and matter. But he refuses to formally analyze the aesthetic possibilities of the material. Rather, he focuses on the search for their magical properties and their potential for transformation.
Tàpies found his personal expression through surrealism in 1954. For himself, he rejects the term abstract painting because he does not accept any restrictions for his art. However, this does not mean a return to figurative painting. He justifies the absence of primary colors in his painting with what he feels is the oversaturation of colors caused by his surroundings and advertising. He developed a real allergy to it. In addition, the colors that he found and used in his work best expressed the mysticism and went deeper.
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curriculum vitae and events
1923 Born in Barcelona, Spain
1940 Begins to draw and paint in self-teaching after an accident that triggers a mental crisis
In 1946 he stopped studying law and resumed painting. Turning to abstraction, at times to surrealism
1948 Co-founder of the artist group "Dau al Set" and editor of the art magazine of the same name. Participation in the "Salón de Octubre" in Barcelona, followed by numerous national and international exhibitions
1950 One-year scholarship in Paris, meeting Jean Dubuffet and other representatives of Art Brut
1952 represented Spain at the Venice Biennale
1959 and beyond - Multiple participations in the documenta in Kassel
1984 Founding of the “Fundació Antoni Tàpies” foundation in Barcelona
1988 Receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Barcelona