
Antoni Tàpies
Wolf Prize Laureate in Art 1981

Antoni Tàpies
Award citation:
“the spiritual contents of Tàpies work does no derive from a calculated composition of clearly defined shapes and colours, but is based on the creation of a sensitive system of textures and on the use of materials as the real constituents of the artistic and spiritual contents”.
Prize share:
Antoni Tàpies
Marc Chagall
Was born more than one generation after Chagall.
Tàpies is one of the most characteristic and at the same time the most original of the creators of abstract painting of the late 50’s and 60’s.
Thick rough-surfased layers and an austere colour scheme characterize many of his works, but he also uses frequently unconventional materials in a bold and highly imaginitive way.
Tàpies has remained in spain during the Franco regime and his own work may have also expressed a silent protest against political repression. his work is truly representative of the Catalan spirit, but it is also universal in character.
His influence has been deeply felt all over Europe and the USA and even in Israel. The art of this great Catalonian master has survived its “historical moment” and has retained its vigour and individual identity.
