The world renowned abstract painter and artist Antoni Tapies (pronounced TAH-pee-ess) has died at the age of 88. The Spaniard was born in Barcelona on Dec. 13, 1923. At the tender age of just 17, Tapies suffered from tuberculosis and almost met death with a near-fateful heart attack.
During the 2 years he spent in the mountains where he gradually recovered back to full health redeemed his strength after the illness, he read a read deal and rediscovered his passion for art which was evident in his earlier teenage years.
In order to please his farther who was a lawyer, Antoni enrolled himself at the University of Barcelona, studying Law. At the same time he also studied drawing at the Valls Academy where, along with Joan Brossa, he founded a progressive arts magazine titled Dau al Set (“The Seven-Spotted Die”).
He married in 1954 to Teresa Barba Fàbregas, they went on to have 3 children, two boys, the first of which was his father’s namesake and Miguel followed by a girl, Clara.
Mr Tapies came to prominence in the late 40s with paintings which were greatly influenced by Surrealist painters such as Miró and Klee, a style which he duly abandoned by the mid-50′s as he ventured into to what would become his signature work: the built-up surfaces that were very often gouged, pitted and incised with symbols, letters and numbers.
His first show in the US came in 1953 at the Marshall Field Art Gallery in Chicago IL, and the Martha Jackson gallery in New York. In 1958 he was the Spanish representative in the Venice Biennale, along with his compatriot Eduardo Chillida. Four years later in 1962, he was presented with a solo gallery showing at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
The Tàpies Foundation was officially opened in 1984, and was dedicated to the study of modern art. In 1990 its first museum was opened with almost 2,000 examples of his work. Age did not deter him n later life. In January 2010 he exhibited his work at the Toni Tàpies Gallery in Barcelona, owned by his son Antoni,
“My illusion is to have something to transmit,” he said when his museum opened in 1990. “If I can’t change the world, at least I want to change the way people look at it.”