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Artist: Antoni Tapies (1923-2012) Spanish Title: Carmi 7 (1994) Signature: signed lower right and numbered 44/75 Medium: etching and carborundum - number 44 from an edition of 75 Size: 56 x 76cm (22 x 29.9in) Framed Size: 71.2 x 91.2cm (28 x 35.9in) Provenance: Private Collection a#morebtn { color: #de1d01; } a#morebtn:hover { cursor: pointer;} Born in Barcelona, the son of a lawyer who was active in politics, and a deeply religious mother, from an early age Antoni Tàpies developed his own personal visual language, one that incorporates emblems of religion, Catalan nationalism and the search for political independence. As a child, Tàpies w... Read more Antoni Tapies Lot 158 - 'Carmi 7 (1994)' Estimate: €2,000 - €3,000 Born in Barcelona, the son of a lawyer who was active in politics, and a deeply religious mother, from an early age Antoni Tàpies developed his own personal visual language, one that incorporates emblems of religion, Catalan nationalism and the search for political independence. As a child, Tàpies was deeply affected by events he witnessed during the Spanish Civil War, and although his parents wanted him to follow a career in law, he attended a drawing course at the Academia Valls in Barcelona, turning to art as a means of expressing himself. Many of his early works were self-portraits, but during the 1940's, inspired by the work of Paul Klee and Max Ernst he developed his own artistic language. In 1948, the year he met Joan Miró Tàpies founded the 'Dau al Set' (Seventh face of Wheat) art movement, railing against what he saw as intellectual complacency in Spain. In 1950 his first one-person show was held at the Galeries Laietanes in Barcelona, and the following year he was awarded a French government scholarship to study in Paris, where he met Picasso. Although influenced by artists such as Jean Dubuffet and seen as an exponent of the movements Art Informel, Art Brut, Arte Povera, and Abstract Expressionism, Tàpies remained true to his own personal aesthetic and philosophy. Through the 1960's his career flourished, and he showed at the Venice Biennale, in New York, and in museums and galleries worldwide. In 1983 he designed a public monument to Picasso in Barcelona, and the following year set up an arts foundation in his home city. His installation at the 1995 Venice Biennale won the Golden Lion award. He died in 2012 in Barcelona. Tàpies' art is always raw and immediate. In terms of materials, rather than use those readily available in art supply shops, he employed hessian fabric, rope, marble dust, sand, wood and plaster in paintings, many of which are more like relief sculptures. However this use of raw materials does not prevent his work possessing a fine aesthetic sensibility, and his art often incorporates symbols, such as crosses, arrows, circles and hearts, the meaning of which is not immediately evident. The inspiration of religious and political symbolism, and the influence of Zen Buddhism, can be seen in this work Carmi 7, printed in 1994--the title referring to carmine, the intense red colour used in the print. The technique of etching, where the paper is imprinted under great pressure, allowed Tàpies to introduce three-dimensional dots on the paper, which emphasises the materiality of this print. Peter Murray, March 2021