Antoni Tapies

Barcelona-born painter and printmaker Antoni Tàpies is considered to be one of the greatest post-World War II artists. He began studying law in 1944, but by 1946, had turned his focus to art. His early paintings are in a Surrealist style that was influenced by artists such as Max Ernst, Paul Klee, and Joan Miró. In 1948 he was involved in founding the Dau-al-Set Post-War movement in Spain.

In 1950, Tàpies was awarded a government scholarship to study in Paris for one year. It was there that Tàpies saw the work of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. Influenced by abstract art, Tàpies later turned toward abstraction while experimenting with introducing foreign materials (such as latex foam) into his paint medium.

Tàpies has been producing prints since 1947, and is a prolific etcher and lithographer. Many of his graphic works were created in collaboration with the writing and poetry of authors like Rafael Alberti and Octavio Paz, among others. Tàpies also authored his own treatises on art, such as “La practica de l’art” (1970) and “Per un art modern i progressista” (1985).