Antoni Tàpies

ANTONI TÀPIES PUIG (Barcelona, 1923 - 2012).
"Terra i falla", 2005.
Mixed media on wood.
Attached certificate of authenticity issued by Miguel Tàpies, President of the Comissió Tàpies. Barcelona, July 26, 2009.
Work registered in the Archive under No. T-8880.
Label of the Galería Soledad Lorenzo (Madrid) on the back.
Signed on the back, dated and numbered on the back.
Provenance: Soledad Lorenzo Gallery and private collection, Madrid.
Measurements: 46 x 55 cm.
Work exhibited at:
- Antoni Tàpies. Soledad Lorenzo Gallery, Madrid, Spain. November 16 to December 23, 2006.
- Modernity without interruption. Odalys Gallery, Madrid, Spain. September 24, 2022 to March 28, 2023 (catalog text by Alfonso de la Torre).
Years before, in the early 70's, Tàpies had already experimented with straw as a pictorial material, an example of this is the work "Palla i fusta" from 1969. In relation to this piece, the Tàpies Museum points out that the artist resorts to straw as a material "in relation to the Vedic myths, according to which fire came to Earth through a spark that jumped from the sun impregnating a bundle of straw. Likewise, the straw alludes to very humble aspects of existence, such as stables, straw beds or dung; and indicates to us that fire and life arise from the smallest elements. Not surprisingly, the straw is arranged in a way that not only reminds us of cosmic and solar elements, but also of pubic hair, with which the artist shows us the continuity existing between the elevated and the inferior. At the same time, the canvas is divided in two by a wooden strip. With this, also in a symbolic way, Tàpies expresses the dialectic established between the two opposites that form the universe: the eternal feminine-masculine, yin-yang, good-evil". An explanation that can be found in this piece that expresses very similar values.
Co-founder of "Dau al Set" in 1948, Tàpies began to exhibit in the Salones de Octubre in Barcelona, as well as in the Salón de los Once held in Madrid in 1949. After his first solo exhibition at the Layetanas Galleries, he travels to Paris in 1950, with a scholarship from the French Institute. In 1953 he had a solo exhibition at Martha Jackson's New York gallery. From then on, his exhibitions, both collective and individual, were held all over the world, in outstanding galleries and museums such as the Guggenheim in New York or the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. Since the seventies, anthologies have been dedicated to him in Tokyo, New York, Rome, Amsterdam, Madrid, Venice, Milan, Vienna and Brussels. Self-taught, Tàpies has created his own style within the avant-garde art of the 20th century, combining tradition and innovation in an abstract style but full of symbolism, giving great importance to the material substratum of the work. It is worth noting the marked spiritual sense given by the artist to his work, where the material support transcends its state to signify a profound analysis of the human condition. Tàpies' work has been highly valued internationally, being exhibited in the most prestigious museums in the world. Throughout his career he has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Praemium Imperiale of Japan, the National Culture Prize, the Grand Prix de Painting in France, the Wolf Foundation of the Arts (1981), the Gold Medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya (1983), the Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts (1990), the Picasso Medal of Unesco (1993) and the Velázquez Prize for the Plastic Arts (2003). Antoni Tàpies is represented in major museums around the world, such as the foundation that bears his name in Barcelona, the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Guggenheim in Berlin, Bilbao and New York, the Fukoka Art Museum in Japan, the MoMA in New York and the Tate Gallery in London.