«To express important things, it is not necessary to use major resources or grandiose imagery. The entire universe could be contained in a speck of dust».
Antoni Tàpies
Antoni Tàpies holds a privileged position in Spanish art of the 20th century. He began as a self-taught artist doing drawing while convalescing from a long illness. At the end of the 1940s he was cofounder of the art group Dau al Set, a Catalan avantgarde collective with surrealist tendencies. The works of this period stand out for their magical themes and iconography, although he evolved towards a growing interest in materiality, as seen by his famous material paintings, which are recognised internationally. Tàpies’ material informalism, as exemplified by Pintura en blau [Painting in Blue], is characterised by the use of new materials like sand, marble dust and variably-toned earth, and also for the application on canvas of cuts, writing, footprints, drawing and primary symbols. In the following decades he strengthened his political engagement and continued to develop his symbolic imaginary world with highly diverse materials and textures as well as everyday objects. Along with his visual art, Antoni Tàpies carried out an important role as an essay writer and art theorist, frequently publishing texts and books that set the tone for the artistic debate of his era.
List of artworks
Pintura en blau , 1955
Pintura grisa núm. LV , 1957
Composició amb sorra blanca núm LXXX , 1958
Composició amb sorra blanca núm LXXX , 1958
Oval de feltre , 1976
Les Doigts , 1976
Peu i vernís , 1985
Peu i vernís , 1985
Butaca , 1987
Càntir i bota , 1987
Pintura en blau , 1955
Oval de feltre , 1976
Butaca , 1987
Pintura grisa núm. LV , 1957
Les Doigts , 1976
Càntir i bota , 1987
Composició amb sorra blanca núm LXXX , 1958
Peu i vernís , 1985
Press articles
1915 – 1995
Col·lecció Josep Suñol
Owing to the number of works in the collection, the first show included a selection of the most representative pieces dating from 1915 to 1995.
1970 – 2001
Josep Suñol Collection
Conceptual art, minimal art and arte povera of extreme radicalism in its thinking, in dramatic contrast to attitudes since then.
Dialogues
First part
An idea that ran right through the 20th century: confrontation implies both affinities and discrepancies with initially similar subjects.
Signs and Writing
Josep Suñol Collection
Collective exhibition which hosts around fifty works, all of them part of collection funds and carried out between 1972 and 2008.
27 works, 18 artists
Josep Suñol Collection
27 pieces from the Josep Suñol Collection to help expand visitors’ knowledge of 20th-century art.
5th Anniversary
Josep Suñol's Collection
A fresh insight into his collection that can help us understand the function of art in society.
Continuum
Josep Suñol Collection
A journey through the last ninety years of artistic creation and offers an excellent platform for thinking about 20th-century art.
On paper
Josep Suñol Collection
Josep Suñol’s fascination with work on paper is strikingly captured by the fact that over thirty per cent of the pieces in his contemporary art collection are done on...
Dialogues of the Gaze
A selection of works from the Col·lecció Josep Suñol with the aim of reflecting on the importance of the gaze.
Known Masterpieces
In Three Acts
Què fa immortal un artista, què el llança cap a la posteritat? On neix la pulsió que ens porta a mirar determinades obres sense cansar-nos-en?
Everything Solid Fades Away
In Three Acts
The second act, titled Everything Solid Fades Away, is a journey through a group of works that allow us to understand the extent to which the abstract pulsation did...
Antòni Tàpies. The Practice of Art
2023
The Fundació Suñol participates in the Antoni Tàpies exhibition. The practice of art organized by theMuso Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid within the framework of Any...
The Fertilizer that Feeds the Soil. Tàpies (1958-88)
2022
Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona
Tàpies at 30
2021
Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona
Tàpies en Zabalaga
2021
Chillida Leku Museum
Itineraries
Dialogues of the Gaze
EL QUE SAPS / EL QUE SENTS / EL QUE PERCEPS: tres itineraris de l'exposició Diàlegs de la mirada.
La Nit dels Museus 2016
Free entry on May 21st of 2016, from 7pm to 1am.
Guided tour to Known masterpieces
(Catalan)
Fundació Suñol organizes a visit in Catalan to the exhibtion Known Masterpieces conducted by the fundation’s team.
A poetics of use: Making use of the library
An intervention by Antònia del Río
Antònia del Rio has selected extracts from books of the library of Fundació Suñol referring to the construction of historiographical discourse on the artist as genius and works of...
How many betrayals are necessary to make a contemporary classic?
Raül Garrigasait
To achieve the contemporary classic status an artwork must face the conflicts of its time. This activity offers a reflective tou to Known masterpieces.
27 works, 18 artists
This exhibition puts together 27 pieces from the Suñol Soler Collection with the aim of expanding knowledge of 20th century art.
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