Antoni Tàpies

En las seis décadas de trabajo dedicado al arte, Antoni Tàpies, ahora universalmente reconocido como uno de los artistas más importantes de la segunda mitad del siglo XX

(1923-2012) Tàpies is one of the foremost exponents of informalism worldwide. This painter, sculptor, and theorist of Spanish art has received numerous awards and distinctions throughout his career. He was one of the pioneers in transforming into artistic elements what at first sight only looked like broken leftovers such as strings, papers, remnants, etc. His interest in this topic comes from the initial influence of artists like Miró and Klee, which led him to increase the iconography and studies of colour in his paintings and sculptures. This combination gives rise to creations of great expressive and communicative capacity.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Sèrie negre, ARTIKA and the Fundació Antoni Tàpies have reproduced the 15 drawings that comprise the complete series, and which the artist produced in 1967 on Kraft paper, a support that enabled the artist, through nuance and relief effects, to emphasise the authentic protagonist of the series: the colour black.

All the plates have been printed on high-quality handmade paper; each of them is numbered and includes the seal of the Fundació. Presented in the form of a diptych, together they form the Art Book of this exclusive edition, limited to 998 copies in Arabic numerals and 298 in Roman numerals.

The Study Book, a bilingual Spanish-English edition, takes the reader on a journey through the life and work of the artist, an account that is jointly written by his son, Antoni Tàpies Barba, Xavier Antich, President of the Board of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, and the art historian Pedro de Llano, who analyses all the drawings, one by one.

Hand-crafted in hessian fabric, the case is comprised of two parts: a detail from one of the plates featuring the artist’s signature and a silkscreen print of a text by Tàpies. The case, which contains all the different parts of the work, can also be used as a display unit for the drawings.