Here’s a very rapid post to mark the passing of the Catalan artist Antoni Tapies. I don’t have time to do a proper appraisal of his work but can’t help feeling that another of the Greats has left the planet. In fact we’ve lost several major artists over the last few months, including Richard Hamilton, Lucian Freud and Cy Twombly so perhaps I should salute their achievements too while I’m at it.
Anyway, Tapies was an artist whose work has influenced me a lot in recent years - most obviously through his interest in walls, surfaces, graffiti, textual content and the sheer matter of painting. I was fascinated by the fantastic physical textures of Barcelona, (including extant Civil War bullet scars), and how heavily ‘written-on’ it is too, when I was there a few years ago. It made a lot of sense to see Tapies work in the context of the Catalan capital and triggered many of the concerns that are still current in my own work.
It seems there was a complex philosophical, even alchemical basis behind his work which is something I should read into further when I get time. By all accounts he was also a man of strong beliefs and integrity who prevailed despite the years of oppression suffered by Spain and his native Catalonia under the Franco Regime.
So, hat’s-off to the guy and let’s take a moment to enjoy a few pieces selected at random from his long career.
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| Antoni Tapies, 'A.T.', Aquatint, 1985 |
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| Antoni Tapies, 'Creu I.R.', Mixed Media on Wood, 1975 |
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| Antoni Tapies, 'I Am Earth', Mixed Media on Canvas, 2004 |
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| Antoni Tapies, 'A+M', Mixed Media on Wood, 2007 |
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| Antoni Tapies, Mixed Media, 'Large Matter With Lateral Papers', 1963 |
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