German
Basic Data
Antoni Tapies was a Spanish painter, graphic artist and sculptor and is said to be one of his country’s most important artists of informal art. In 1944, he began to study law, but dropped it in 1946 to finally dedicate himself to art. As his first exhibitions have been so successful, he received a scholarship in Paris. There, he got to know artists of the Art Informel like Jean Fautrier and Jean Dubuffet.
- Born: 13 December 1923
- Place of birth: Barcelona, Spain
- Died on: 6 February 2012
- Nationality: Spanish
- Studied at: Law at University of Barcelona
- Similar artists: Hans Hartung, Eduardo Chillida, Joan Miro
- Era: Contemporary art
- Stylistic direction: Informal art
From the 1960s onwards, he is internationally known, receives numerous awards and prizes, and his artworks and editions are exhibited at important exhibitions such as the Biennale in Venice and the documenta in Kassel.
Antoni Tapies Art For Sale
Antoni Tapies prices
| Artist: | Title: | Price: | Type: | Size: | Edition: | Handsigned: | Numbered: | Date: |
| Antoni Tapies | Chaise et pied | 3400 Euro | Original print | 40.5 x 29.1 in | limited edition of 100 | yes | yes | 28.06.2019 |
| Antoni Tapies | Gegen die Folter | 3990 Euro | Original print | 23.6 x 31.5 in | limited edition of 150 | yes | yes | 28.06.2019 |
| Antoni Tapies | Llambrec material I | 1795 Euro | Original print | 22 x 30 in | limited edition of 75 | yes | yes | 28.06.2019 |
| Antoni Tapies | Clau del Foc X | 1195 Euro | Original print | 17.7 x 24.4 in | limited edition of 75 | yes | yes | 28.06.2019 |
| Antoni Tapies | Improvisations en blanc i negre I | 2990 Euro | Original print | 14.6 x 18.8 in | limited edition of 60 | yes | yes | 28.06.2019 |
| Antoni Tapies | Variations IX: Chaise ficelee | 2990 Euro | Original print | 41.3 x 29.5 in | limited edition of 90 | yes | yes | 28.06.2019 |
| Antoni Tapies | Poems from the catalan 6 | 2300 Euro | Original print | 22 x 29.9 in | limited edition of 75 | yes | yes | 28.06.2019 |
Biography
Spanish artist Antoni Tapies was born in Barcelona on December 13, 1923. He grew up during the Spanish Civil War and enjoyed a strict religious upbringing. After suffering a serious accident, Tapies began drawing and painting. Through magazines he became acquainted with the works of a Picasso, Miró, or Kandinksy, by which he was immediately fascinated.
Originally, however, Tapies wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer. He had to repeatedly interrupt his law studies due to illness and finally made the decision to devote himself entirely to his true destiny, art. He acquired his artistic skills autodidactically.
While he initially copied the Old Masters, he soon found a style that was influenced by Surrealism. Increasingly, it could be observed how his works became more abstract in the following years. In 1948, together with other Catalan artists, he founded the group of artists called "Dau as a Set", among whose most important representatives he is today.
In 1950, Tapies received a scholarship in Paris, which gave him the opportunity to get to know the French art and cultural scene. In addition to Far Eastern philosophy, he became involved with the artists of Informel and Art Brut. He also began to use materials such as sand, cement and marble in his works, giving them a relief-like and almost wall-like character. He was constantly on the lookout for new forms of painterly expression and experimented with a wide variety of materials. "I am never satisfied. I'm always looking for a better picture," the artist once explained. He integrated religious and magical signs into his artworks and editions, making his works seem mysterious and meditative. He never saw himself as an abstract painter, but as a realist who wanted to make reality a bit more tangible for the viewer.
In the 1970s, the painter took sides with his art against the dictatorship under Franco in Spain at the time. For example, during the protests he distributed silkscreens and lithographs that took a clear stand against the death penalty. In the mid-1980s, the politically and socially committed painter founded the "Fundació Antoni Tàpies", which houses the largest collection of his work. In 2010, Tapies was elevated to the status of nobility by the Spanish King Juan Carlos I. Two years later, the Catalan died in his native city of Barcelona.
Exhibitions
- 15.09.2023 – 07.01.2024 Antoni Tàpies - The Practice of Art – BOZAR Centre of Fine Art, Brussels.
- 27.05.2023 – 15.07.2023 The Paradoxes of Internationalism (As Narrated by the Museo Tamayo Collection) Part I – Museo Tamayo, Mexico City.
- 13.05.2023 – 24.09.2023 Wondrous Worlds. From René Magritte to Daniel Richter – Museum im Kleihues-Bau, Kornwestheim.
- 25.04.2023 – 20.08.2023 Dioses, magos y sabios. Las colecciones privadas de los artistas – CaixaForum Madrid.
- 01.04.2023 – 29.10.2023 Cross(ing) Way(s° - MMRK Museum voor Moderne Religieuze Kunst, Brussels.
- 24.03.2023 – 27.08.2023 Picasso and the 20th Century Masters. Museum Ludwig Collection – My Art Museum, Seoul.
- 04.06.2022 – 15.09.2022 Die Form der Freiheit. - Museum Barberini, Potsdam.
- 25.11.2021 – 13.11.2022 Personae. Masks against barbarism – Es Baluard Museu d’Art Modern, Palma de Mallorca.
- 22.10.2021 – 04.12.2021 Tomás Díaz Cedeño, Michael Schmidt & Antoni Tàpies »666« - Galerie Nordenhake - Mexico City.
- 24.09.2021 – 30.01.2022 Sammlung Miessl – Stadtgalerie Klagenfurt.
- 15.09.2021 – 15.08.2022 In die Weite - Aspekte jüdischen Lebens in Deutschland – Kolumba Kunstmuseum, Cologne.
- 18.01.2021 – 14.03.2021 The Essl Collection - Albertina, Vienna.
- 06.10.2020 – 27.11.2020 Dreamsongs: From Medicine To Demons To Artificial Intelligence - Colnaghi London.
- 01.10.2020 – 28.08.2021 Fragile Schöpfung - Dom Museum Wien, Vienna.
- 04.07.2020 – 31.01.2021 De que é feita uma colecção? Corpo e Matéria, Centro de Arte Contemporanea de Coimbra, Portugal.
- 15.05.2020 – 28.06.2020 Museo Tamayo Collection, Museu Tamayo, Mexico City.
- 14.02.2020 – 01.06.2020 Unsere Gegenwart, Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen.
- 04.07.20 – 31.01.21 De que é feita uma colecção? Corpo e Matéria, Centro de Arte Contemporanea de Coimbra, Portugal.
- 15.05.20 – 28.06.20 Museo Tamayo Collection, Museu Tamayo, Mexico City.
- 14.02.20 – 01.06.20 Unsere Gegenwart, Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen.
- 22.05.2019 – 08.09.2019 Al Norte de la Tormenta: from Robert Rauschenberg to Juan Muñoz – MAXXI, Rome.
- 27.03.2019 – 04.05.2019 Antoni Tàpies – Hommage an die Materie – Galerie Boisserée, Cologne.
- 08.06.2018 – 24.02.2019 Antoni Tàpies. Political Biography - Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona.
- 11.10.2017 – 04.11.2018 MACBA Collection. Beneath the Surface – MACBA, Barcelona.
- 07.02.2017 – 25.09.2017 Antoni Tàpies. Objects - Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona.
- 22.10.2016 – 29.01.2017 Kunst in Europa 1945–1968 – ZKM, Karlsruhe.
- 19.01.2016 – 22.05.2016 Antoni Tàpies. Collection, 1955–65 - Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona.
- 12.06.2015 – 10.06. 2016 Tàpies. An Artist’s Collection - Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona.
- 01.05.2015 – 28.06.2015 20th Century Visionaries. Print and Photographs from the Permanent Collection - St. Louis University Museum of Art, St. Louis.
- 04.10.2013 – 19.01.2014 Antoni Tàpies – Museo Guggenheim, Bilbao.
- 01.06.2013 – 24.11.2013 TAPIES. The eye of the artist - Palazzo Fortuny, Venice.
Awards
- 2010: Survey into the nobility with the title Marqués de Tàpies, Madrid.
- 1990: Praemium Imperiale, Japan.
- 1988: Honorary Doctor of the University Barcelona, Barcelona.
- 1988: Appointment as Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France.
- 1982: Wolf-Prize, Jerusalem.
- 1981: Medalla de Ordo de Bellas Artes, Madrid.
- 1981: Doctor honoris causa, Royal College of Art, London.
- 1979: Artprize of the city Barcelona, Barcelona.
- 1974: Stephan-Lochner-Medal, Cologne.
- 1958: First Prize of the Carnegie Institut, Pittsburgh.
Films
- Tàpies, Documentation by Gregory Rood, BBC & TV Espana, 54min, 1991.
Literatur
- Antoni Tàpies (Barcelona 1923-2012 Barcelona), Exhibition catalog, Thomas Weber (Publ.), Cologne 2019.
- Antoni Tàpies, Bild, Körper, Pathos, Exhibition catalog, Eva Schmidt (Publ.), Cologne 2011.
- Antoni Tàpies: Malerei und Graphik, Galerie Boisserée (Publ.), Cologne 2011.
- Tàpies im west-östlichen Dialog, Verena Tintelnot, Kromsdorf 2009.
- Antoni Tàpies: Malerei und Grafik, Matthias Rataiczyk (Publ.), Halle 2007.
- Antoni Tàpies. Zeichen und Materie, Stiftung Schloss Moyland (Publ.), Cologne 2007.
- Antoni Tàpies: Complete Works: Volume VIII, 1998-2004, Nuria Enguita Mayo, Barcelona 2006.
- Antoni Tàpies. Works, writings, interviews, Youssef Ishaghpour, Barcelona 2006.
- Antoni Tàpies. Eine Retrospektive, Thomas M. Messer, Cologne 2003.
- Empremtes – Spuren. Antoni Tàpies. Das Werk, Barbara Catoir, Cologne 2003.
- Gespräche mit Antoni Tàpies, Barbara Catoir, Munich 1997.
Own Writings
- L’art i els seus llocs, Antoni Tàpies, Madrid, 1999.
- L’experiència de l’art, Antoni Tàpies, ed. José Francisco Yvars, Barcelona, 1996.
- Valor de l’art, Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, 1993.
- Art i espiritualitat, Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona,1989.
- Per un art modern i progressista, Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona,1985.
- La realitat com a art, Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, 1982.
- L’art contra l’estètica, Antoni Tàpies, Esplugues de Llobregat, 1974.
- La pràctica de l’Art, Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, 1970.
Collections
Argentinia
- Buenos Aires - Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes MNBA
Germany
- Bremen – Kunsthalle Bremen
- Emden – Kunsthalle Emden
- Kiel – Kunsthalle zu Kiel
- Essen – Museum Folkwang
- Munich – Pinakothek der Moderne
France
- Paris – Centre Pompidou
England
- London – Tate Collection
Italy
- Bologna - Museum of Modern Art of Bologna MAMbo
Japan
- Tokyo – Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
Austria
Spain
- Bilbao - Museo Guggenheim
- Barcelona - Fundació Antoni Tàpies
- Barcelona - Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona MACBA
- Madrid - Museo Reina Sofia
USA
- New York – Museum of Modern Art MOMA
- New York - Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Weblinks
- Fundació Antoni Tàpies Homepage of the Antoni Tapies Foundation.
- Kunstaspekte Antoni Tapies Exhibition and collection overview.
