The Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Antoni Tàpies Foundation) was set up in 1984 by the Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies in order to promote the study and knowledge of modern and contemporary art. The Fundació opened its doors in June 1990 in the building of the former Montaner i Simon publishing house, originally designed by the Modernista architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
The Fundació owns one of the most complete collections of Tàpies’ oeuvre, largely made up of donations by Antoni and Teresa Tàpies, and stages temporary exhibitions, symposia, lectures and film seasons with a range of publications that complement the activities and periodic shows of Tàpies’ work.
HIGHLIGHTS
ANTONI TÀPIES
Tàpies achieved international recognition by the mid-1950s. In the 1960s, he began incorporating new iconographic elements (writing, signs, anthropomorphic elements, footprints and references to Catalan life) and new technical methods…
Tàpies achieved international recognition by the mid-1950s. In the 1960s, he began incorporating new iconographic elements (writing, signs, anthropomorphic elements, footprints and references to Catalan life) and new technical methods (new surfaces, use of everyday objects and varnish). Tàpies’ pictorial language continued to develop since that time, resulting in a creative and productive body of work that is admired throughout the world.
THE MUSEUM
The Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Antoni Tàpies Foundation) was created in 1984 by the Catalan artist, Antoni Tàpies, to promote the study and knowledge of modern and contemporary art. The museum…
The Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Antoni Tàpies Foundation) was created in 1984 by the Catalan artist, Antoni Tàpies, to promote the study and knowledge of modern and contemporary art. The museum combines temporary exhibitions, symposia, lectures and film seasons with a range of publications that complement the activities and periodic shows of Tàpies’ work.
THE COLLECTION
The Foundation owns one of the most complete collections of Tàpies’ oeuvre, largely made up of donations by Antoni and Teresa Tàpies. Including paintings, sculptures, objects, drawings, books and engravings,…
The Foundation owns one of the most complete collections of Tàpies’ oeuvre, largely made up of donations by Antoni and Teresa Tàpies. Including paintings, sculptures, objects, drawings, books and engravings, the collection contains samples of all aspects of Tàpies’ artistic activity, as well as the different formats, techniques and materials used by the artist.
THE BUILDING
The Fundació opened its doors in June 1990 in the building of the former Montaner i Simon publishing house, originally designed by the Modernista architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Constructed…
The Fundació opened its doors in June 1990 in the building of the former Montaner i Simon publishing house, originally designed by the Modernista architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Constructed during an early stage of the evolution of Catalan Modernisme, between 1880 and 1881-82, the building was the first in the Eixample district to integrate industrial typology and technology, combining exposed brick and iron into the fabric of the city centre.
The project that Collins presents at the Fundació Antoni Tàpies focuses on the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy (1900-1989). In these photographs, either mounted in sequence and screened as a film, or presented in large formats, Fathy emerges as the spectre of a forgotten modern vernacular legacy.
In 1991, just under a year after the Fundació’s opening, Antoni Tàpies produced a series of works in Barcelona on synthetic textile mats that he used to cover and protect his studio floor. It was not the first time that Tàpies used this medium. In 1984, he had already experimented with the material, producing two works. However, it was not until 1991 that he created a significant set of works in which the use of this material is a common feature.
