Barcelona, 1923 – 2012
Antoni Tàpies was born in Barcelona in 1923; his adolescence was marked by illness and the Spanish Civil War. A self-taught artist, he decided to devote himself to art from 1946 onwards and, influenced by Surrealist painting, co-founded the artists’ group Dau al Set in 1948.
In 1950, he exhibited at the Galeries Laietanes in Barcelona and at the Carnegie International in Pittsburgh. That same year, he spent a year in Paris. His first solo exhibition in the United States, at the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York in 1955, was followed by numerous international exhibitions in the following decades.
From 1953, his artistic output turned towards the abstract, focusing on materiality: his colour palette was reduced to a few colours and the material texture of his works became increasingly pronounced. Tàpies developed a personal style with highly material results, exploring the tactile qualities of matter, using gravel, earth, plaster, paper, debris and other solid materials in his works to create a particularly thick surface.
Regarded as one of the most important exponents of European Informal art, he is internationally recognised as the leading figure of the post-war Spanish art scene.
In 1993, together with Cristina Iglesias, he represented Spain at the Venice Biennale and was awarded the Golden Lion.
He passed away in Barcelona in 2012.
