Antoni Tàpies. Collection, # 6

The Fundació presents a new selection of works by Antoni Tàpies belonging to the Collection.

The show, which this time will be in Spaces A and B, includes different creative moments of the artist from the 1940s to the present, and illustrates the development of the typologies, techniques and materials used by Tàpies. The visit starts with a selection of works from the 1940s in which various influences are evident, ranging from Symbolism and Expressionism to Surrealism. The exhibition also features a selection of drawings from the Sèrie Història natural (Natural History Series, 1950–51) – a reference to a series of Max Ernst’s frottages bearing the same title, which adds a social and political dimension to the biological-magical interpretation of Ernst. Also included are works from the 1970s with several of the themes that reoccur throughout the artist’s career, such as the interest in matter, Ocre i taques blaves (Ochre and Blue Stains, 1972); Arc de terra (Earth Arch, 1978); his political commitment (seen here in Composició amb números (Composition with Numbers)), a canvas from 1976 created in memory of activist Oriol Solé i Sugranyes), and the relationship with other artistic disciplines (Taronja sobre decorat de teatre (Orange on Stage Set), 1978)), which we also find in later works, such as Dues piles de terra (Two Piles of Earth, 2001), Anular (Annular, 1981) and Urbilder (díptic) (Urbilder (diptych), 1988). The exhibition also includes a selection of collectors’ books made in collaboration with artists such as Joan Brossa, José Miguel Ullán and Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny during the period 1963–2000.

The visit finishes with a screening of the documentary Antoni Tàpies (1982) by André S. Labarthe, produced by Ina (Antenne 2), in the auditorium of the Fundació (Space C).