Antoni Tàpies was born on December 13, 1923, in Barcelona. His adolescence was disrupted by the Spanish Civil War and a serious illness that lasted two years. Maybe the most well known Catalan artist to emerge since the Second World War, he was first exposed to contemporary art as a teenager through theBarcelona based magazine D’Ací i D’Allà published during and prior to the Spanish Civil War. Whilst at school he explored his artistic talents and taught himself to draw and paint. Through a French government scholarship he moved to Paris in the early 1950s which influenced him both culturally and creatively.
Tàpies started as a surrealist painter, his early works were influenced by Paul Klee and Joan Miró; but soon became an informal artist, working in a style known as pintura matèrica, in which no- artistic materials are incorporated into the paintings and is known for his relentless experimentation throughout his career using unconventional materials, often creating thick surfaces crafted from marble dust, ground chalk, sand, and earth Tapies very often used bits of material like sandbags, coffee sacks and sisal. His signature technique, and what he is most well-known for, involved the scratching and gouging of the canvas to create a primal, enigmatic and visceral effect that is both deeply raw and human.
Homage to Picasso (1971) is executed in the artist’s signature, abstract style. The muted, yet warming tones, burnt caramels, warming browns and enveloping blacks are punctuated by the central, fresh yellow tone. Compositionally the multi-layered oil painting uses a light grey, chalk-like triangle in the lower left quadrant that elegantly sweeps the eyes of the viewer to the central yellow image. Difficult to name, there is a yellow skull-like figure,shrouded in black, that recalls images of a human-like figure. The energetic piece is highly textured, swirling colours are interspersed with shapes and form as Tapies pulls the viewer into the painting, both creating intrigue and suspense.
On the Homage to Picasso, Director Acoris Andipa says, " I am simply delighted to have this gorgeous work in our collection and it is a real source of inspiration to our gallery. Tapies, for me, is an artist who elicits an endless sense of fascination. His confidence and bold use of colour and material showcase an artist who both embraced innovation and the avant-garde. Within the artwork there is a plurality and duality that pulls you into the picture. Its rich, burnt colours enveloppe you and draw you in. As an abstract painting, it can sit so happily in any environment and surrounded by anything from a David Hicks salon style to a crisp minimalist setting.”
Homage to Picasso is available to view at Andipa either in person or via video call. For more information, contact sales@andipa.com or view our Antoni Tapies paintings for sale for further details.