Antoni Tàpies

(Barcelona 1923 - 2012 Barcelona)

Tàpies, who studies law from 1944 until 1948, begins making art in 1943. In 1948, he is a cofounder of the artists’ group “Dau al Set” and the magazine of the same name in Barcelona. His art faces rejection in Spain, and in 1950–51, a French government fellowship allows him to live and work in Paris for ten months; before returning to Spain, he travels to Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1953, he visits New York. His first “wall paintings” date from the mid-1950s. In 1958, he participates in the Venice Biennale and wins the Carnegie Prize. In 1962, he designs a mural for the new home of the University of St. Gallen. He is awarded the Golden Lion at the 1993 Venice Biennale. Tàpies lives and works in Barcelona and Paris.