Antoni Tàpies

23 Mar — 22 Apr 2006

The show comprises 18 paintings made over the past five years - many of which have never been shown before. They exemplify Tàpies' 'informalist' practice and his interest in contrasting materials: the paintings are mixed media - made using oil and acrylic, collage and assemblage - on wood and on canvas.

Born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1923, Antoni Tàpies studied law at Barcelona University (1943-6), before devoting himself to painting. Apart from two months spent studying drawing at the Valls Academy, Tàpies is entirely self-taught. In 1948 he was a member of the group which formed the artistic association Dau Al Set (Die with The Seven) - and its periodical of the same name - to promote avant-garde activity in Barcelona.

In the mid-40s he made the first of many works using impasto and collage, found objects and graffiti. In the early 50s he turned away from figurative imagery to abstraction in order to experiment with new materials and texture. He covered his canvases with a thick, impasto base and incorporated into it materials such as clay and marble dust. To this, he added incised and scribbled lines, various lacerations and graffiti-like marks. Tàpies developed this idea to integrate real objects such as buckets and pieces of furniture in his works.

Throughout his career Tàpies' work has been shown in major international exhibitions including: the ICA, London (1965); the Musée d'art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark; the Nationalgalerie, Berlin; the Hayward Gallery, London (all 1973); the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1980); the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf (1989); the Galerie nationale du Jeu de paume, Paris (1994); the Guggenheim Museum, New York (1962 and 1995); the Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid (2000) and at the Hara Museum, Tokyo (2005). Tàpies' works are held in major public and private collections worldwide.

Tapies has written extensively on the experience of art. In 1987 the city of Barcelona handed over the Modernist building Casa Montaner i Simo to house the Fundacio Antoni Tapies, the foundation created in 1984 by the artist to promote the study and knowledge of modern and contemporary art. Tapies lives and works in Barcelona, Spain.