Antoni Tàpies

Antoni Tàpies  (b. 1923, Barcelona) was a Catalonian painter, sculptor, and art theorist who was instrumental in the advancement of modern art, most notably through his investigations into nontraditional materials. Considered one of Spain’s most important artists of the twentieth century, Tàpies first became exposed to Modernism during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, during which he taught himself to paint. Coming of age in a moment of extreme upheaval and conflict, he was deeply invested in the power of art to advance political change, and in 1948 helped co-found the first Post-War movement in Spain, known as Dau al Set. Tàpies later gravitated toward the movement dubbed informal art, incorporating humble materials such as clay, waste paper and rags into his paintings. In the 1950s, he began mixing marble dust into his pigments, which created the striking matte effect that defines many of his most iconic works.

Tàpies represented Spain in the 1993 Venice Biennale. Notable solo exhibitions include retrospectives at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.