Tàpies. An artist’s collection
12 june 2015 – 10 jannuary 2016
PRESS DEPARTMENT
DANIEL SOLANO
TEL +34 934.870.315
[email protected]
WWW.FUNDACIOTAPIES.ORG
Tàpies. An artist’s collection
Exhibition
Curator: Núria Homs. | Organization: Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona. | Calendar: From friday 12 june 2015
to sunday 10 january 2016. | Preu: General entrance: 7.00 €. Students and Senior Citizens (over 65): 5.60 €. The
unemployed, and Friends of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies: Free admission. Special admission fee for groups over 15
people. Booking in advance is required. For further information and bookings: (t) +34 932 075 862 | Web:
www.fundaciotapies.org
Between 2014 and 2015, the heirs of Antoni Tàpies (1923–2012) gave on deposit to the
Fundació a collection of 230 works that are part of that collection. Largely, this
consignment is composed of works by Tàpies from the mid-1940s to the late 1980s, but
also includes a selection of 31 works by artists of the twentieth century such as Paul
Klee, Joan Miró, Kurt Schwitters, Wassily Kandinsky, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp,
Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Jean Dubuffet, Willem de Kooning, Sam Francis and
Robert Motherwell, among others.
The exhibition Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection features work from this deposit and
includes, on the one hand, a selection of works by Antoni Tàpies from the mid 1940s
until well into the 1980s, with special attention to the lesser known works; and, on the
other hand, a selection of works from his private collection, as well as a presentation of
letters, photographs, invitations, catalogues and reference books from his personal
library that were donated to the Fundació’s Library in 1990. The selection highlights
both the influences on his formative period and the preferences and affinities of his
more mature work.
The exhibition is accompanied by the screening of the previously unseen documentary
by M. Lluïsa Borràs, Antoni Tàpies, made in 1981, with music by Josep Maria Mestres
Quadreny. The film, conceived as a sound photoscope, reviews the work of the artist, his
artistic, literary and cultural references, and his historical and personal context. The
recovery of this documentary was made possible thanks to the generosity of Adelaida
Frías Borràs, and the collaboration of the Filmoteca de Catalunya.
Tàpies. An artist’s collection
In general, an artist’s collection consists of works by others together with the artist’s
own works. The works by others come from two different sources: firstly, the most active
one, consists of items purchased by the artist; the second, rather more passive, consists
of works by other artists received either by exchange or by generous donation. The
collection of Antoni Tàpies is no exception. Begun in the mid-1940s in parallel to his
own artistic development, it was not until the 1960s, coinciding with the consolidation
of his career, that the collection really took off.
Tàpies had in mind two references: firstly, the model of the artist-collector offered by
Picasso and Miró, whose studios he had visited in his youth – Picasso with a remarkable
collection of African and modern art, Miró with a collection of objects from popular
culture and nature – and, secondly, the special Christmas 1934 issue of the magazine
D’Ací i d’Allà, dedicated to the art of the twentieth century, and some numbers of
Cahiers d’art, especially the 1936 issue devoted to the object, which contributed to his
discovery of modern art and the relationships that it established with other
manifestations, both artistic and popular. Tàpies wrote:
‘The D’Ací i d’Allà issue has been with me all my life and I still have it at home, now
signed by its authors. The emotion brought about by Picasso’s Woman in a Shirt; the
Braque still life; the Futurist paintings by Severini; the fabulous still life by Juan Gris,
which disconcerted me with the ambiguity of its meticulous realism that at once wasn’t
realistic; the geometries of Kandinsky and Mondrian; the magic of Max Ernst; the great
glass of Duchamp; Miró’s Man with Pipe, which reminded me of prehistoric cave
paintings; and the bursting yellows and reds of his stencil; it was all a shock that seemed
to bring light to the inner landscapes of my imagination.’ 1
Tàpies built a heterogeneous collection, which includes works of Western art and art
from Africa, Asia and Oceania, samples of folk art and the art of the mentally ill, films,
photographs and rare books, a collection that embraces a wide historical period from the
Egypt and Mesopotamia of antiquity to Western art of the twentieth century, from the
early avant-garde to German Neo-Expressionism. This collection documents the
interests, affinities and ambitions of the artist, and establishes a network of
relationships with his work, not in terms of mimesis, but rather of common inspiration,
since Tàpies felt inspired by artists who, like him, wanted to create a kind of art that
went beyond the mere decorative object and had the ability to make the viewer think.
Between 2014 and 2015, the heirs of Antoni Tàpies (1923–2012) gave on deposit to the
Fundació a collection of 230 works that are part of that collection. Largely, this
consignment is composed of works by Tàpies from the mid-1940s to the late 1980s, but
also includes a selection of 31 works by artists of the twentieth century such as Paul
Klee, Joan Miró, Kurt Schwitters, Wassily Kandinsky, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp,
Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Jean Dubuffet, Willem de Kooning, Sam Francis and
Robert Motherwell, among others. The deposit has enriched the Fundació’s Collection,
which consists of nearly 400 original works by Tàpies, including paintings, sculptures,
objects and drawings from all periods of his artistic production, and more than 1,500
prints and rare books, donated by Teresa and Antoni Tàpies to the Fundació.
The exhibition Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection has been constructed exclusively from part
of that deposit. It is not the first time that the Fundació addresses the artist’s collection.
In 2010, to mark the reopening of the museum after the second renovation and
refurbishment of the building, it organised the exhibition Antoni Tàpies. The Places of
Art, which was comprised of a hundred works including paintings, objects and rare
books, mostly by other artists, although it included two works by Tàpies himself. On that
occasion, the exhibition focused on works from his library at home, and the close
relationship that arose out of this proximity. More recently, in 2013, the exhibition
Tàpies. From Within focused on a selection of works from the artist’s studio and from
the Collection of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies. Presented jointly by the Fundació and the
Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the exhibition focused exclusively on works by the
artist.
Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection offers a look at around twenty works of modern Western
art and forty by Tàpies – these last covering the period represented in the deposit, with a
special emphasis on previously unseen or lesser known works. The exhibition begins
with works by artists whose direct influence can be seen in Tàpies’ early works – such as
Paul Klee, Joan Miró and Max Ernst –, and works by Pablo Picasso, Kurt Schwitters,
Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp and Hans Arp, to whom Tàpies felt particularly
attracted. This is followed by a selection of works by his contemporaries, those with
whom he shared a feeling of affinity, such as Jean Dubuffet and the American artists
Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Sam Francis and Robert Motherwell.
This section of the exhibition is accompanied by a selection of letters, photographs,
invitations, catalogues and reference books from his personal library that were donated
to the Fundació’s Library in 1990. Among them are editions of the special Christmas
1934 issue of the magazine D’Ací i d’Allàfeaturing the diaries of Paul Klee, of Woman
with 100 Heads by Max Ernst, a selection of writings by Marcel Duchamp, and some
issues of the magazines Cahiers d’art and Documents.
The itinerary continues with works by Tàpies on other levels of the building. His
formative years are represented by an eclectic selection of works from 1945 to 1951:
from the early works of 1945, of an Expressionist and dreamlike nature, full of
symbolism and Nordic influences (especially Munch); to those inspired by Surrealism in
the period 1947–49; followed by works from the period 1949–51, with representations of
lunar landscapes, where both composition and colour bring to mind certain images of
Klee and Miró.
The exhibition also includes a selection of Tàpies’ matter paintings from the beginnings
of his mature period in the mid- 1950s, with examples from 1955–56 and works from
the following decade characterised by the appearance of walls, the density of the
textures and a limited palette – greys, ochres and browns – colours that, for him, are
related to the inner world and thought. The exhibition continues with a large selection of
works from the 1980s, accompanied by examples from the 1970s, in which heavy matter
paintings are seen next to other works with almost empty surfaces where varnish is the
protagonist. The return of the object, which Tàpies incorporated widely in his work in
the late 1960s and during the 1970s, also features in one work from 1987.
The exhibition highlights many of the recurring themes in the work of Tàpies, which he
repeated at different creative moments. Among such themes, walls suggesting the
passage of time, enclosure or graffiti inscriptions in the 1950s, reappear in the 1970s and
1980s; landscape, specifically the Montseny landscape, where Tàpies worked during the
summers, is both setting and self-portrait; fragmented parts of the body are represented
in an iconic and indicative form; everyday objects that are attached to the surface of the
canvas or represented iconographically signifying the importance that simple and poor
objects held for the artist; the influence of Eastern philosophies that can be seen in the
representation of a smiling Buddha or the reference to the universe in an outstretched
hand; and the importance of delving into the knowledge that evokes the image of the
scale. These are themes that exemplify the concerns Tàpies was addressing in his work
in an attempt to explain through art his way of understanding the world.
The exhibition is accompanied by the screening of the previously unseen documentary
by Maria Lluïsa Borràs, Antoni Tàpies, made in 1981, with music by Josep Maria
Mestres Quadreny. The film, conceived as a sound photoscope, reviews the work of the
artist, his artistic, literary and cultural references, and his historical and personal
context. The recovery of this documentary was made possible thanks to the generosity of
Adelaida Frías Borràs, and the collaboration of the Filmoteca de Catalunya.
1. TÀPIES, Antoni. A Personal Memoir. Fragments for an Autobiography. (Complete Writings. Volume I).
Barcelona: Fundació Antoni Tàpies, (1977) 2009: 92.
Interview: Tàpies, Collector
Extract from an interview with Toni Tàpies, gallery owner and eldest son of the artist
The exhibition Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection opens the celebrations for the 25 th
anniversary of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies. How do you think Antoni Tàpies would
have felt about these celebrations?
He was a very vital person, although in the last years of his life he was already very ill.
He used to say he would have liked to live another eighty years so he could go on
painting, not be on holiday. I’m sure he would have loved to see how the Fundació was
also getting older and to participate in its 25th anniversary.
The exhibition is about the artist’s private collection. Which were Antoni Tàpies’
criteria when choosing new works for his collection?
My father was very well informed on artworks. He had a very good bibliography and
knew exactly what he liked or didn’t like. In this sense he was not a typical collector, one
who wants to own everything from a particular type of work or a specific artist. He only
purchased what he liked. This could equally be an African fetish, or a work by Picasso, a
Japanese painting or an art piece by the Amerindians. But he was not influenced by any
particular style or ethnic group, only by what he liked. He was a bit eclectic and always
let his personal taste determine the orientation of his collection. He was not driven by
an obsession to collect, but by the need to be surrounded by works of art that would give
him the energy to carry on working.
How did he acquire the works? Did he buy them? Did he exchange works with other
artists?
Sometimes he exchanged works with galleries or other artists. He began collecting when
I was very little. For example, I remember that he did an exchange with an early Picasso,
a typical painting of the artist and his model. But although he liked it, he didn’t feel that
it was the work he wanted to own by Picasso. So when the opportunity arose to acquire
the work now in the collection, an abstract, Cubist Picasso, he didn’t hesitate. He kept it
and gave back the painting of the artist and his model.
Did any of the works in the collection hold a particular importance for him?
He loved all the works. I remember how he awaited anxiously for the arrival of a new
piece. At times, a dealer he trusted would come to the house to offer him a particular
piece and would leave it there so he could look at it carefully. Then my father would put
it in the place in the house where he thought it should hang, and would look at it for
hours. And we knew that, depending on how he looked at it, he would end up buying it,
because he was very particular about that. He always looked forward to every new
purchase, and once he had it at home, he immediately displayed it. Nothing was put
away in a cupboard. Until I was seven, we lived in a relatively small apartment in Carrer
Sant Elies. My father was still young and we couldn’t afford a bigger place. But when we
moved to Carrer Saragossa, into a larger house with plenty of room for artworks, the
collection began to increase. And, miraculously, everything found its place. It seemed
impossible that some of the larger works would even come through the door, but they all
did.
Did he select all the works or did he allow the rest of the family to take part in the
building of the collection?
Until the early nineties, or thereabouts, my father used to work all throughout the
summer. Then, in October, he received dealers from Paris and New York and let them
choose among his new creations. One would choose one piece, the other another, and so
on. Until they all had enough works for their respective exhibitions. But there was a
third element in this selection: my mother. She would choose some of the works at the
same time as the dealers did. And this is how a substantial number of works stayed at
home, and what facilitated, on the one hand, the donation made by my parents to the
Fundació a few years later, and on the other, the private collection that still belongs to
us. In fact, it is very much a selection dictated by my mother’s taste, which is very special
and refined. She didn’t always choose signature pieces. Some of them are difficult to
understand. But those were the works by Tàpies that my mother liked best.
Did the works that Antoni Tàpies collected act as an inspiration or an influence on his
work?
Yes, I’m sure of it. They may not have influenced him directly, but he always chose
works that emanated a special energy for him. And he needed this energy in his life and
his work. Therefore, even if they weren’t a direct influence, they created the right
environment in his home, where he lived and worked every day. My father travelled
quite a lot, but not as much as today’s artists who are constantly on the move. His house
was his den, a place where he could read, listen to music and that created a particular
state of mind, a special energy to be released the next day in the studio. He wanted to
create that environment, and he wasn’t one of those collectors who keep everything in
crates or are constantly lending. In fact, he was quite reluctant to lend. First, because he
was afraid the work might be damaged or lost. But most of all, because he really needed
it. He needed it near him, so he could touch it and feel that special energy. And that’s
what makes the collection presented in this exhibition so special. I think it will help
people understand my father’s conception of art, the things he liked, the things that
influenced him and motivated him in his work. I’m glad people can see it, because until
now it had always been kept in the private world of his house.
Was the artist inclined to show his collection to people outside the family?
He showed it to people who came home for dinner, for instance. But although he was
very proud of some of the works, he wasn’t the type of collector who puts on dinner
parties just to show his collection. He didn’t boast about it.
Besides works by Tàpies himself, the exhibition includes around thirty works by other
international artists. Did he have a personal relationship with those artists whose
work he had acquired?
He had a personal relationship with some of them. He had met Picasso. He was a close
friend of Joan Miró, whom he greatly admired. He was also friends with Robert
Motherwell, they were very fond of each other. In fact, Motherwell visited us at home
and knew my father’s studio. With Eduardo Chillida there was an acquaintance, and
they exchanged a painting for a sculpture. In some other cases, perhaps the two artists
had briefly seen each other at a particular moment. But in general, if my father could get
the piece, he was satisfied. I don’t think he ever went out of his way to meet a particular
artist, except perhaps in Picasso’s case, whom he had admired since he was young and
took a few steps to get to know him.
Do any of the works in your father’s collection have a particular resonance for you?
Picasso’s piece created a great impression on us when it arrived at home. I don’t think
it’s my favourite work, but it certainly is an important part of the collection. On the
other hand, my father loved illustrated books. He had antiquarian books, incunable
books, books illustrated by artists, some of which have already been exhibited. I’m
particularly interested in the bibliographic world, and although these are discrete works
compared to the paintings, I have always loved my father’s books.
How do you see the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in another twenty-five years?
The Fundació is a great project and I am sure that it will go on growing. It is already a
referent in Barcelona, and in another twenty-five years it will be an essential part of the
art world.
Film: Antoni Tàpies
Discovery of the documentary Antoni Tàpies (1981), written and directed by Maria
Lluïsa Borràs.
Miquel Tàpies, director of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies from 1990 to 2010, President of
the Fundació Antoni Tàpies from 2008 to 2011, and younger son of the artist, brought
together Antoni Tàpies’ personal archive and deposited part of it at the Fundació Antoni
Tàpies. Lately the archive has been the object of study for several of the Fundació
departments and scholars from different fields. This has made possible, among other
things, the publication of the complete correspondence between Antoni Tàpies and Joan
Brossa in the period of 1950–51 in the volume Tàpies & Paris, edited by Jacques
Terrassa and published by Éditions Hispaniques, Paris, 2014. In the same way, some of
the documents in the archive have been included in exhibitions organised by the
Fundació, such as Contra Tàpies (2013), and Col·lecció Les Abattoirs. Toulouse
[working title] (in progress).
Access to the archive allowed for the discovery of the documentary Antoni Tàpies (1981)
by Maria Lluïsa Borràs. Hitherto unknown, the documentary was mentioned in a letter
of 23 July 1981, addressed to Tàpies by David K. Anderson, son of the legendary New
York dealer Martha Jackson. Through her production company Proviart, Maria Lluïsa
Borràs wrote, directed and produced a series of three documentaries: Antoni Tàpies
(1981), Picasso nostre (1982) and Gargallo (1982). Documentaries on Joan Miró and
Josep Lluís Sert were left unfinished. Antoni Tàpies (1981) and Gargallo (1982) were
screened in the United States, so the captions are only in English. They may never have
been screened in Catalonia or Spain. Picasso nostre was part of the official selection at
the San Sebastian Cinema Festival of 1982.
As a result of the collaboration between Maria Lluïsa Borràs and Joan Prats in the third
and final series of fotoscops (1966–79), these documentaries were conceived as sound
fotoscops, that is, a set of images organised in a sequential order. Antoni Tàpies (1981)
offers an overview of the artist’s work and his artistic, literary and cultural referents, as
well as his historical and personal context. The music is by Josep Maria Mestres
Quadreny, who reprised a previously composed piece. The recuperation of this
documentary has been made possible thanks to the generosity of Adelaida Frías Borràs,
in collaboration with the Filmoteca de Catalunya.
In the process of research of the documentaries by Maria Lluïsa Borràs, the Fundació
Antoni Tàpies contacted the Centre of Conservation and Restoration of the Filmoteca de
Catalunya in order to find the original negatives produced by Proviart. Fortunately all
the material, except for that dedicated to Joan Miró, is part of their cinematographic
collection. These original negatives belonged to the former film laboratories Fotofilm
and Riera, indispensable exponents in the history of cinema in the city of Barcelona. In
the late 1990s, when the laboratories closed, they entered a long judicial process. The
Filmoteca de Catalunya, a public institution in charge of the preservation of Catalan film
heritage, appeared before the judge to bring to notice the cultural value of the cinematic
fonds that these two laboratories had accumulated, and their role in promoting their
conservation despite the industrial disputes. In the end, the judge ruled in favour of
transferring their physical property to the Filmoteca de Catalunya to guarantee its
preservation.
The collaboration in this process of discovery has consisted in the digitalisation of the 16
mm original negative, edited on sides A and B with colour emulsion, HD quality, at the
laboratories Deluxe-Barcelona. The Centre of Conservation and Restoration of the
Filmoteca de Catalunya has made the digital restoration of the image, sound capture of
both versions – Catalan and English – and the subsequent edition and synchronisation
with the inclusion of Spanish subtitles for wider distribution.
Fotoscop
Fotoscops was an editorial project began by Joan Prats and Joaquim Gomis in the
1940s, consisting of a series of books of images organised in sequential order, halfway
between cinematographic language and photo-reportage. The name fotoscop derives
from the Greek words photo (light) and scopos (examination). Fotoscops went through
various editorial phases and were published until the 1970s. Mostly the photographs
were by Joaquim Gomis, while the selection and image sequences were performed by
Joan Prats, although Gomis often collaborated.
The first fotoscop was Eucaliptus, a series of photographs of a eucalyptus tree in
Gomis’s garden taken from multiple viewpoints, which was never published. In 1952, to
mark the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s birth, the Barcelona publishing house Omega
published its first fotoscop, titled La Sagrada Familia de Antonio Gaudí, adapted to the
format and aesthetics of the Poliedro collection, Las Corrientes del Arte
Contemporáneo. This first photo-book by Gomis-Prats consolidated the language of
fotoscops, which they themselves defined on the book jacket: ‘Fotoscop or a sequence of
photographs placed in an order that determines the plastic suggestion of the subject,
according to a rigorous rhythm in the distribution of subjects, the admix of distances,
between a long shot and the next, foreshortenings and the relation between different
terms, the same as in film decoupage [montage/construction].’
In 1957 the publishing house RM, directed by Ramon Julià, took over Omega in the
publication of fotoscops. Unlike the design of Omega’s Poliedro collection, RM’s
fotoscops were more in line with the ideas of Gomis and Prats. The square format was
better suited to the original photographs, and that allowed for full-page bleeds.
Moreover, the images were separated from the text, facilitating the development of an
uninterrupted sequence. Besides the re-publication of Gaudí’s fotoscop, RM published
three fotoscops: two dedicated to Joan Miró (Atmósfera Miró, 1959, and Creación Miró
1961, 1962) and one to Antoni Tàpies (Antonio Tàpies, 1959).
In 1966 fotoscops began to be published by Edicions Polígrafa, a publishing house
dedicated to art and architecture, created by Manuel de Muga in 1961. With Polígrafa,
these books had an introduction in four languages (Catalan, English, French and
German). Twenty-seven were published by 1979, with twelve featuring Joaquim Gomis’s
photographs exclusively, while the rest included the work of other photographers such
as Francesc Català-Roca. Edicions Polígrafa maintained the essence of the design
inherited from RM, with only slight modifications such as the type of paper and the
typography.4
2
3
4
NOTES:
Juan Naranjo, ‘Joaquim Gomis. De la mirada obliqua a la narració visual’, in Joaquim Gomis. De la mirada
obliqua a la narració visual. Barcelona: Fundació Joan Miró, 2012.
Daniel Giralt-Miracle, ‘Joaquim Gomis, un vanguardista independiente’, in Joaquim Gomis fotógrafo.
Valencia: IVAM Centre Julio González, 1997.
Naranjo, op. cit.
List of publications
Alexandre Cirici Pellicer. La Sagrada Familia de Antonio Gaudí. Barcelona: Omega, 1952.
Alexandre Cirici Pellicer. La Sagrada Familia de Antonio Gaudí. Barcelona: Editorial RM, [n.d.].
Re-published. [Keith Pat1]
James Johnson Sweeney. Atmósfera Miró. Barcelona: Editorial RM, 1959.
Michel Tapié. Antonio Tàpies. Barcelona: Editorial RM, 1959.
Yvon Taillandier. Creación Miró 1961. Barcelona: Editorial RM, 1962.
Roland Penrose. Creación en el espacio de Joan Miró = Creation in the Space of Joan Miró = Création dans l'espace
de Joan Miró = Die Raumschöpfungen von Joan Miró. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1966.
Francesc Vicens. Antoni Tàpies o l'Escarnidor de diademes. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1967.
Alexandre Cirici Pellicer. 1900 a Barcelona: modernisme = modern style = art nouveau = Jugendstil. Barcelona:
Polígrafa, 1967.
Le Corbusier. Gaudí. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1967.
Josep Lluís Sert. Ibiza, fuerte y luminosa = Strong and luminous = Forte et lumineuse = Kraftvoll und strahlend .
Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1967.
Maria Lluïsa Borràs. Arte del objeto japonés = Art of the Japanese Object = Art de l'objet japonais = Kunst des
japanischen gegenstands. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1969.
Peter Bellew. Calder. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1969.
Maria Lluïsa Borràs. Mundo de los juguetes = World of Toys = Monde des jouets = Welt der spielzenge.
Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1969.
Maria Lluïsa Borràs. Arquitectura contemporanea japonesa. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1970.
Ian Christie Clark. Arte indio y esquimal del Canadá = Indian and Eskimo Art of Canada = Art Indien et esquimau
du Canada = Die Kunst der Indianer und Eskimos in Kanada. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1970
Francesc Vicens. Catedral de Tarragona. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1970.
Maria Lluïsa Borràs. Daitokuji Katsura. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1970.
James Johnson Sweeney. Joan Miró. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1970.
Maria Lluïsa Borràs. Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1970.
Maria Lluïsa Borràs. Domènech i Montaner : arquitecto del modernismo = An art nouveau arquitect = Architecte du
modern style = Achitekt des jugendstil. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1971.
Maria Lluïsa Borràs. Arquitectura finlandesa en Otaniemi: Alvar Aalto, Heikki Siren, Reima Pietilä. Barcelona:
Polígrafa, 1971.
Michel Tapié. Gaudí: La Pedrera. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1971.
Carola Giedion-Welcker. Park Güell de A. Gaudí. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1971.
Jeannine Auboyer. Angkor. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1971.
Francesc Vicens. Artesanía = Craftsmanship = Art populaire = Volkskunst. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1971.
Josep Lluís Sert. Cripta de la Colonia Güell de A. Gaudí. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1972.
Jacques Dupin. Miró escultor. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1972.
Gabriel Celaya. Los espacios de Chillida. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1974.
Maria Lluïsa Borràs. Sert, arquitectura mediterrània. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1975.
Eudald Serra Güell. Arte de Papua y Nueva Guinea. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1976.
Elsy Leuzinger. Arte del Africa negra = The Art of Black Africa = L'art de l'Afrique noire = Kost barkeiten [sic]
Afrikanischer Kunst. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1976.
Alexandre Cirici Pellicer. Presència de Joan Prats. Barcelona: Polígrafa, 1979.
[Keith Pat1]¿Que significa ‘reedición’ en este contexto?
Biographies
Antoni Tàpies (Barcelona, 1923-2012)
Antoni Tàpies’ first artistic attempts began during a long convalescence following a
serious illness, after which his increasing dedication to painting and drawing led him to
abandon his university education. By the 1940s, he was already exhibiting work that
distinguished him among the artistic scene of the moment. Co-founder of the magazine
Dau al Set in 1948, and influenced by Miró and Klee, he became increasingly interested
in iconographic and magical subjects. He gradually began to incorporate geometrical
elements and colour studies leading to an interest in matter through the use of heavily
textured canvases of great expressive and communicative possibilities. With these
works, Tàpies achieved international recognition by the mid-1950s. In the 1960s, he
began incorporating new iconographic elements (writing, signs, anthropomorphic
elements, footprints and references to the Catalan situation), and new technical
methods (new surfaces, use of everyday objects and varnish). Tàpies’ pictorial language
has continued to develop ever since, resulting in a creative and productive body of work
that is admired throughout the world.
He has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Institute of
Contemporary Art and the Serpentine and Hayward Galleries, London; the Neue
Nationalgalerie, Berlin; the Kunstahaus, Zurich: the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de
Paris, the Jeu de Paume and the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Museo Nacional Centro de
Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Valencia; and the Museu
d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, among many other prestigious institutions.
In parallel to his artistic production, Tàpies is also the author of numerous publications:
La pràctica de l’art (1970), L’art contra l’estètica (1974), Memòria personal (1977), La
realitat com a art(1982), Per un art modern i progressista (1985), Valor de l’art(1993)
and L’art i els seus llocs (1999).
Antoni Tàpies created the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in 1984 with the aim of promoting
the study and knowledge of contemporary art, paying special attention to art’s role in
forming the conscience of modern man.
Antoni Tapies died on 6 February 2012 in Barcelona at the age of 88 years.
Maria Lluïsa Borràs (Barcelona, 1931–Palafrugell, 2010)
Doctorate in Art History, critic and exhibition curator. Dedicated to the study and
promotion of contemporary art, Maria Lluïsa Borràs was a regular contributor to
Catalan and international publications (Destino, La Vanguardia – for over thirty years
–, Art Vivant, Opus International and Canal, among others). She was the editor of the
art magazine El Guía, and in the last years of her life she created the cultural magazine
Vèlit.
She was a lecturer at the Escola Eina, Barcelona, and at the Universitat Autònoma de
Barcelona (1969–74), where she helped create the first Art Department, by teaching
Contemporary Art History and Art Theory, and creating a new academic subject:
Analysis and Critique of Artworks.
Together with Joan Prats and later with Francesc Vicens, she took part in the creation of
the Fundació Joan Miró, where she was secretary general (1971–75) and a member of
the Board of Trustees. She was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Fundació
Joan Brossa.
She curated numerous exhibitions around the world of artists such as Maillol, Gargallo,
Matisse, Magritte, Miró, Picasso, Matta, Man Ray, Beverly Pepper, Sucre, Tàpies, Arp,
Dennis Oppenheim, Warhol and Miralda.
In 1964 she became secretary of Club 49, where she collaborated with its founder, Joan
Prats, in the third series of the collection of visual books Fotoscop (1966–79), as the
author of seven of its titles and sometimes as a photographer (Domènech i Montaner:
arquitecto del modernismo and Sert, arquitectura mediterrània, among others).
In the 1980s she created the production company Proviart, dedicated to the promotion
of Catalan artists, where she worked as scriptwriter, director and producer of
documentary films such as Antoni Tàpies (1981), Gargallo (1981), and Picasso nostre
(1982). She named the collection Fotoscops Sonors.
She was an expert on Dada and the work of Francis Picabia, on whom she published a
monumental monograph (1985), based on her doctoral thesis, which was translated into
four languages and awarded the Premi de la Crítica for its interest and rigour. She was
the author of numerous books on art, such as her work on the architect Antoni Gaudí
and the volume entitled Col·leccionistes d’art a Catalunya (1985), and several
monographs on Villèlia (1974), Porta Missé (1995), Wifredo Lam (1996), Ramon Pichot
(1997), Nagel (2003), Floreal (2003), Dalí (2004) and Niebla (2009), as well as studies
on the work of Calder and Duchamp, for whom she felt a special attraction, as she did
for the poet and boxer Arthur Cravan, to whom she dedicated a monograph of
international renown: Cravan, une stratégie du scandale (1996).
She was a member of the Reial Acadèmia de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi, and in 2004 was
the recipient of the Gold Medal for Cultural Merit, awarded by the Ajuntament de
Barcelona.
Related activities | Tàpies. An artist’s collection
Activities for the general public
Approximations
Guided tour of the exhibition Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection.
Calendar: Saturday 17 October, 14 November and 12 December 2015, and Saturday 9 january
2016 at 17.00. | Duration: 1 hour and 15 mins. | Price: 5.50 €. 16s and under and Friends of the
Fundació Antoni Tàpies, free. Limited places. Advance booking is recommended (932 075 862 /
[email protected]).
Fundació Antoni Tàpies. 25 years
Free guided visits during the open weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of
the Fundació.
Calendar: Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June 2015 at 17.00 and 18.00. | Duration: 1 hour. |
Price: free. Limited places. No booking required. Registration by order of arrival.
Mercè 2015
Free guided tours on the occasion of the Feast of the Mercè 2015.
Calendar: Wednesday 24 September 2015 at 17.00 and 18.00. | Duration: 1 hour. | Price:
free. Limited places. No booking required. Registration by order of arrival.
Super-libris
Exclusive presentation of Antoni Tàpies’ collector’s books.
Calendar: Wednesday 21 October 2015 at 18.00. | Duration: 1 hour. | Price: 7 €.
The price includes an invitation to visit the museum on a day of your choosing. 16s and under
and Friends of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, free. Limited places. Booking required (932
075 862 /[email protected]).
Moments of the object
Art Therapy Workshop. By Eva Bonet and Anna Subirana.
Calendar: Saturday 28 November 2015. | Duration: 7 hours (from 10.00 to 14.00 and 15.30 to
19.30). | Price: 75 €. Places must be reserved before 19 November 2015 (932 075 862 /
[email protected]).
Activities for families
Sealed books
Visit-workshop focused on exploring the symbolic universe of Antoni Tàpies and
his passion for books.
Calendar: Thursday 9 July and Wednesday 30 December 2015 at 17.00. | Age group:
Children from 6 to 12 years. | Duration: 1 hour and 30 mins. | Price: 4 € per person. Booking
required (932 075 862 / [email protected]).
Ways to paint
Family visits to the exhibition Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection, followed by a
creative workshop.
Calendar: Saturday 24 October and 21 November 2015 at 17.00. | Age group: Children from 6 to
12 years. | Duration: 1 hour and 30 mins. | Price: 4 € per person. Booking required (932 075 862 /
[email protected]).
On Tàpies
Free activities for families on the occasion of the celebration of the 25th
anniversary of the Fundació.
Calendar: Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June 2015, at 12.00. | Duration: 1 hour. | Price: free
admission. Limited places. No prior booking is required. Registration by order of arrival.
Activities for children
Ways to paint
Visit the exhibition Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection, followed by a creative
workshop.
Calendar: 29 December 2015, at 11.00. | Age group: Children from 6 to 12 years. The children will
remain in the care of the education department of the Fundació. | Duration: 2 hours. | Price: 4 €.
Booking required (932 075 862 / [email protected]).
Special activities for summer colonies
Traces of rain, marks of fire
Dynamic visit and workshop. Calendar: dates to be arranged
for the months of July and September 2015.
Age group: Children from 6 to 12 years. | Duration: 2 hours. | Price: 125 € per group (maximum
25 participants).
Exclusive activities for the Friends
Presentation of the exhibition Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection
By Núria Homs, curator of the Fundació.
Calendar: Tuesday 30 June, at 18.00. | Duration: 1 hour. Visit exclusively for the Friends.
Booking required (934 870 315 / [email protected]).
Activities for teachers
Presentation of the programme of activities for schools
Presentation of the activities of the Fundació’s education department followed by
a guided visit to the exhibition, Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection.
Calendar: Wednesday 30 Septem ber 2015, at 18.00. | Duration: 1 h. | Price: free admission.
Booking required (932 075 862 / [email protected]).
Presentation of Tàpies:An Artist’s Collection
Informative session on the content of the educational activities of the Fundació,
which includes a visit to the exhibition Tàpies: An Artist’s Collection. Following
the visit there will be a workshop by JOVI.
Calendar: Saturday 21 November 2015 at 11.00. | Duration: 2 hours (visit and workshop). | Price:
free admission. Booking required (932 075 862 / [email protected]).
List of works | Tàpies:An Artist’s Collection
Antoni Tàpies
Dona, 1945
(Mujer / Woman)
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
54,5 x 45 cm / 54.5 x 45 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Composició, 1945
(Composición / Composition)
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
46 x 38 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Dues figures, 1945
(Dos figuras / Two Figures)
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
46 x 38 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Personatges, 1947
(Personajes / Personages)
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
81 x 65 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Composició amb figures, 1947
(Composición con figuras / Composition with Figures)
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
89 x 116 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Pintura, 1947
(Painting)
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
54 x 65 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Paisatge transformat, 1947
(Paisaje transformado / Transformed Landscape)
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
130 x 97 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Eel, 1949
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
50 x 61 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Paisatge nocturn, 1951
(Paisaje nocturno / Nocturnal Landscape)
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
81 x 100 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Vas, 1955
(Vaso / Glass)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre tela / Mixed media on canvas
54 x 81 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Pintura. N. XXX, 1956
(Painting No. XXX)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre tela / Mixed media on canvas
54 x 65 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Pintura grisa, 1956
(Pintura gris / Grey Painting)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre tela / Mixed media on canvas
64 x 99,5 cm / 64 x 99.5 cm
Col·lecció particular, Barcelona
Antoni Tàpies
Petit blau, 1962
(Pequeño azul / Small Blue)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre tela / Mixed media on canvas
55,5 x 33,5 cm / 55.5 x 33.5 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Arc blau, 1962
(Arco azul / Blue Arc)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre tela / Mixed media on canvas
54 x 81 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Taques negres i ventall, 1965
(Manchas negras y abanico / Black Marks anf Fan)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre tela / Mixed media on canvas
100 x 81 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Blanc i taronja, 1967
(Blanco y naranja / White and Orange)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre madera / Mixed media on wood
61 x 50 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Veta, fils, didal i botó, 1974
(Cinta, hilos, dedal y botón / Ribbon, Thread, Thimble and Button)
Procediment mixt i assemblatge sobre fusta / Técnica mixta y assemblage sobre madera / Mixed media
and assemblage on wood
46,5 x 65,5 cm / 46.5 x 65.5 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Marró i baieta, 1975
(Marrón y bayeta / Brown and Floorcloth)
Pintura i collage sobre tela / Pintura y collage sobre tela / Paint and collage on canvas
98 x 162 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Petit blanc amb compartiments, 1978
(Pequeño blanco con compartimentos / Small White with Compartments)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre tela / Mixed media on canvas
46,5 x 56,5 cm / 46.5 x 56.5 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Vernís sobre blanc, 1979
(Barniz sobre blanco / Varnish on White)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre tela / Mixed media on canvas
195 x 170 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Drac, 1980
(Dragón / Dragon)
Pintura acrílica, llapis i vernís sobre fusta / Pintura acrílica, lápiz y barniz sobre madera / Acrylic paint,
pencil and varnish on wood
89 x 146,5 cm / 89 x 146.5 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Dos quadrats blancs, 1981
(Dos cuadrados blancos / Two White Squares)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre madera / Mixed media on wood
195 x 170 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Empremta de sabata, 1981
(Huella de zapato / Shoe Imprint)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre madera / Mixed media on wood
46 x 55 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Dues formes sinuoses, 1981
(Dos formas sinuosas / Two Wavy Forms)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre madera / Mixed media on wood
130 x 130 cm
Antoni Tàpies
2 +, 1981
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre madera / Mixed media on wood
46 x 65 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Montnegre, 1983
Vernís i llapis sobre tela / Barniz y lápiz sobre tela / Varnish and pencil on canvas
170 x 195 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Matèria del temps, 1983
(Materia del tiempo / Matter of Time)
Pintura sobre fusta / Pintura sobre madera / Paint on wood
270 x 220 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Can Canal, 1984
Pintura i vernís sobre tela / Pintura y barniz sobre tela / Paint and varnish on canvas
162,5 x 130 cm / 162.5 x 130 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Vermell i vernís, 1984
(Rojo y barniz / Red and Varnish)
Pintura i vernís sobre fusta / Pintura y barniz sobre madera / Paint and varnish on wood
130 x 162 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Hotei, 1984
Pintura sobre fusta / Pintura sobre madera / Paint on wood
170 x 195 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Peu, 1984
(Pie / Foot)
Pintura sobre fusta / Pintura sobre madera / Paint on wood
81 x 130 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Matèria ocre, 1984
(Materia ocre / Ochre Matter)
Pintura sobre tela / Paint on canvas
195 x 170 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Riera de Campins, 1984
(Campins Brook)
Pintura i vernís sobre fusta / Pintura y barniz sobre madera / Paint and varnish on wood
130 x 195 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Oval blanc, 1984
(Óvalo blanco / White Oval)
Pintura sobre tela / Paint on canvas
146 x 114 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Blanc, negre i vernís, 1985
(Blanco, negro y barniz / White, Black and Varnish)
Pintura i vernís sobre tela / Pintura y barniz sobre tela / Paint and varnish on canvas
170,5 x 200 cm / 170.5 x 200 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Gris i negre, 1985
(Gris y negro / Grey and Black)
Pintura sobre fusta / Pintura sobre madera / Paint on wood
170 x 195 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Oval negre i vernís, 1985
(Óvalo negro y barniz / Black Oval and Varnish)
Pintura i vernís sobre fusta / Pintura y barniz sobre madera / Paint and varnish on wood
170 x 195 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Gran blanc amb mà, 1985
(Gran blanco con mano / Large White with Hand)
Pintura i collage sobre fusta / Pintura y collage sobre madera / Paint and collage on wood
200 x 250 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Graffiti, 1985
Pintura sobre fusta / Pintura sobre madera / Paint on wood
195 x 170 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Taca marró sobre blanc, 1986
(Mancha marrón sobre blanco / Brown Spot on White)
Pintura, llapis i collage sobre tela / Pintura, lápiz y collage sobre tela / Paint, pencil and collage on canvas
221 x 271 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Negre amb roba, 1987
(Negro con ropa / Black with clothes)
Pintura i collage sobre fusta / Pintura y collage sobre madera / Paint and collage on wood
162 x 130 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Autoretrat amb paisatge, 1987
(Autorretrato con paisaje / Self-Portrait with Landscape)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre madera / Mixed media on wood
220 x 300 cm
Antoni Tàpies
Blanc amb persiana, 1987
(Blanco con persiana / White Blind)
Llapis, collage i assemblatge sobre tela / Lápiz, collage y assemblage sobre tela / Pencil, collage and
assemblage on canvas
250 x 170,5 cm / 250 x 170.5 cm
Franz Kline
Sense títol, 1947
(Sin título / Untitled)
Oli, tinta i collage de paper sobre paper / Óleo, tinta y collage de papel sobre papel / Oil, ink and paper
collage on paper
49,8 x 70,9 cm / 49.8 x 70.9 cm
Hans Arp
Homme, moustache et nombril, 1928
(Home, bigoti i melic / Hombre, bigote y ombligo / Man, Moustache and Navel)
Pintura i llapis grafit sobre paper / Pintura y lápiz grafito sobre papel / Paint and graphite pencil on paper
64 x 70,5 cm / 64 x 70.5 cm
Jackson Pollock
Sense títol, 1951
(Sin título / Untitled)
Aquarel·la sobre paper / Acuarela sobre papel / Watercolour on paper
45 x 54 cm
Jean Dubuffet
Paysage, 1951
(Paisatge / Paisaje / Landscape)
Procediment mixt sobre tela / Técnica mixta sobre madera / Mixed media on wood
73 x 91,5 cm / 73 x 91.5 cm
Joan Miró
Sense títol, 1930
(Sin título / Untitled)
Grafit sobre paper / Grafito sobre papel / Graphite on paper
46,5 x 63 cm / 46.5 x 63 cm
Joan Miró
Tête d’homme, 1932
(Cap d’home / Cabeza de hombre / Head of a Man)
Pintura sobre fusta / Pintura sobre madera / Paint on wood
35 x 27 cm
Joan Miró
Personnages et oiseaux en fête pour la nuit qui approche, 1968
(Personatges i ocells celebrant l’arribada de la nit / Personajes y pájaros celebrando la llegada de la
noche / Figures and Birds celebrating the Arrival of the Night)
Oli sobre tela / Óleo sobre tela / Oil on canvas
97 x 130 cm
Kurt Schwitters
Töpferei, 1921
(Ceràmica / Cerámica / Pottery)
Collage sobre paper / Collage sobre papel / Collage on paper
13,6 x 11,1 cm / 13.6 x 11.1 cm
Marcel Duchamp
La boîte-en-valise, 1936-1941-1968
(La caixa en una maleta / La caja en una maleta / Box in a Valise)
Procediment mixt / Técnica mixta / Mixed media
Mides variables
Max Ernst
Forêt bleue, 1927
(Bosc blau / Bosque azul / Blue Forest)
Oli sobre cartó / Óleo sobre cartón / Oil on cardboard
23,6 x 19 cm / 23.6 x 19 cm
Pablo Picasso
Le Coq saigné, 1947
(El gall dessagnat / El gallo desangrado / The Bloodless Cock)
Oli sobre fusta / Óleo sobre madera / Oil on wood
80 x 99,8 cm / 80 x 99.8 cm
Paul Klee
Weibsteufel, die Welt beherrschend, 1921
(La dona del diable, la que domina el món / La mujer del diablo, la que domina el mundo / The Devil’s
Wife, she who Dominates the World)
Aquarel·la i tinta sobre paper / Acuarela y tinta sobre papel / Watercolour and ink on paper
44 x 27 cm
Robert Motherwell
Sense títol, 1963
(Sin título / Untitled)
Pintura sobre tela / Paint on canvas
60 x 122 cm
Sam Francis
Blue Series # 3, 1960
(Sèrie blava núm. 3 / Serie azul nº. 3 / Blue Series no. 3)
Guaix i aquarel·la sobre paper / Aguada i acuarela sobre papel / Gouache and watercolour on paper
106 x 75 cm
Vassili Kandinski
Nach Links, 1927
(A l’esquerra / A la izquierda / To the Left)
Oli sobre cartró / Óleo sobre cartón / Oil on cardboard
41 x 33 cm
Vassili Kandinski
Partant de la petite flèche, 1930
(Sortint de la fletxa petita / Saliendo de la flecha pequeña / Coming out of the Small Arrow)
Oli sobre cartó / Óleo sobre cartón / Oil on cardboard
34,5 x 48,5 cm / 34.5 x 48.5 cm
Vassili Kandinski
Allein, 1932
(Sol / Solo / Alone)
Guaix i aquarel·la sobre paper / Aguada i acuarela sobre papel / Gouache and watercolour on paper
37,5 x 48,2 cm / 7.5 x 48.2 cm
Willem de Kooning
Sense títol, 1954
(Sin título / Untitled)
Pinzell i tinta sobre paper / Pincel y tinta sobre papel / Brush and ink on paper
58 x 47,5 cm / 58 x 47.5 cm
Press information
Visit
the
press
space
at
the
Fundació
Antoni
Tàpie’s
webside
(http://fundaciotapies.org), with de press dossier and images in high and low
resolution.
More information:
Daniel Solano
Press Department
Fundació Antoni Tàpies
http://fundaciotapies.org
[email protected]
+34 93 487 03 15
Special thanks to: Adelaida Frías Borràs