Antoni Tàpies
( Spanish, b. 1923 )






From "U No Es Ningú": Cercle, 1979
(From "One is not anybody": Circle)
Inventory # 51502

Original aquatint and etching printed on Guarro paper. From the series "U No Es Ningú", which is comprised of 12 etchings and 2 lithographs. Hand signed by the artist in pencil, lower right. An HC impression noted in pencil, lower left, aside from the editions of 82 and 75.  Published by Ediciones Polígrafa, S.A., Barcelona, Spain. In excellent condition, framed with conservation materials.

Platemark: 15 1/2" x 11", sheet: 28 3/8" x 22 1/8"
Catalogue reference: Ediciones Polígrafa No.5

As a self-taught painter and printer, Catalan artist Tàpies first exhibited at the Salo d'Octubre in Barcelona in 1948.   Tàpies soon after received international recognition. The Fundació Antoni Tàpies was established in 1984, after which he received the Golden Lion Award at the 45th Biennal of Venice. Retrospectives of his works were held at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, at the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume in Paris, and at the Guggenheim Museum in Soho. His style was characterized by his use of texture, which was referred to as "matière painting". The tactile aspects that are visible in his paintings are also applied to his printed works.   Tàpies, who was always involved in both painting and printmaking, created his first etchings as early as 1948.  One of the great advantages that Tàpies found with prints was the collaboration between publisher, printer and artist. This method of production allowed him to profit from the printers' skill and inventiveness. In this particular work, the geometrical shapes such as the circle and the line, as well as the letters allude to graffiti and the ancient handicraft of making symbolic marks on two-dimensional surfaces. Tàpies was inspired by different philosophies including Marxism, Surrealism and Psychoanalysis.

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