On the 6th of February 2012, Catalan artist and art theorist Antoni Tàpies i Puig died in Barcelona at the age of 88. Following a heart attack at the young age of 17, Tàpies spent time recuperating in the mountains, which is where he first started pursuing his passion for art. He lived on and off in Barcelona and Paris, where the acclaimed critic and curator Michel Tapié enthusiastically supported his work. Initially influenced by Surrealism and Dada, in the 1950s, Tàpies started focusing on informal painting (pintura matèrica, or matter painting) using non-art materials such as textile rags, waste paper, clay, marble dust, string, in combination with mixed media. The idea was to produce something magical by means of the least obvious or appealing materials. His work came to be associated with Tachisme through the free reign he allowed his materials, their natural texture, colour and shape…
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