CIRCULO CON RELIEVE

ANTONI TÀPIES

Spanish painter, sculptor and art theorist Antoni Tàpies was one of the most outstanding Spanish artists of the 20th century. A self-taught artist, he was the creator of a unique, unparalleled style that is exceptional even among the many stylistic innovations of 20th century Avant-Garde art. He did not forego traditional approaches, but at the same time was courageous enough to forge innovations in abstract art and incorporate elements of symbolism, thereby imbuing his artworks with abundant meaning. The spiritual significance of his work is particularly worthy of mention. The artist conveys his intrinsic thoughts and meditations through the use of external materials, thereby transforming art into the profound analysis of humanity. Highly commended by those within the artistic circle, Tàpies’ works are now housed and collected by many renowned museums around the world. Tàpies’ early works convey visible traces of a surrealist style. During his residence in Paris, his creative approach began to transit towards the non-formalist. This is exemplified by his employment of ropes, paper, marble dust and other recycled or discarded materials in his works.

In the 1970s, Tàpies began to supplement his art with more political elements in his attempt to protest Franco’s autocratic regime and enunciate the Catalonian desire for freedom and power. He often expressed his protests by adding symbols such as the estelada, the flag of Catalonia, with its four stripes of red upon a yellow backdrop, or letters of the alphabet, all of which signify his will of resistance. The most notable feature of Tàpies’ work is a wall-like concrete heaviness created through the mixture of multiple materials. He blended other elements into these heavy, weighted layers, such as the embellishing of graffiti-like images upon the rough, unadulterated surfaces. He also made extensive use of symbols, such as the cross, moon, stars, alphabets, digits, and geometrical shapes. For Tàpies, these symbolic elements reflect the substance of his intrinsic world: life, death, solitude, separation, sex, and more. In his works, each of these symbols carries unique, specific meaning.

Tàpies preferred unitary tones, such as sienna, brown, gray, black and other earthy or cool-toned colors. In response to questions of color, the Spanish painter explained, “Sometimes I only use gray to paint. One reason is my own self-reflection upon the frequent use of primary colors in my previous works. In fact, the commercials and signs present in our everyday lives also prompt me to seek out the colors that better allow us to fully express our inner worlds. I seek a source of radiance that illuminates our hearts and dreams within the dim environment in which we exist. In my works, there appears to be a pursuit of colors often associated with joy and delight such as red and yellow. For me, however, grays and browns are better suited to the communication of the voices deep inside my heart. These colors are very much in close proximity to the world of philosophy.