The Heart of the Matter: Inside A Monumental Masterpiece by Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies

C ampins is dated 1962, when Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies was at the very peak of his career, solidifying his position as a major intellectual and artistic figure of the 20th century. “It's a very rare example in this size, the first that we have seen on the market in a long time. It's absolutely spectacular,” says Eddie Hautchamp, Director and Head of Evening sales.

Pablo Allepuz García, the curator of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona, explains why Campins encapsulates a key moment from a key era.

“1962 is an important year for Tàpies, with a solo show at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and his new studio at Campins, near Barcelona, which the work is named after. It is monumental indeed, as are many of the works made during those years; shortly after he would participate at Documenta III (1964),” says García.

The 1950s were also formative years. In 1950, Tàpies moved to Paris where he met Pablo Picasso; in 1952, he participated in the 26th Venice Biennale. The following year, he held his first two solo exhibitions in the United States when he saw works by artists such as Willem de Kooning and Robert Motherwell.

“From this moment on, the material quality of his paintings became accentuated, the textures more evident,” says a biography published by the Fundació Antoni Tàpies. This watershed moment sparked his influential ‘matter paintings’ - works that dwell on the basic constituents of the universe in a scientific sense - which were shown for the first time in Paris in 1955.

Campins is an excellent example of the ‘matter paintings’. “He gathers all these influences, creating a piece in his totally unique style,” says Hautchamp. Crucially the physical composition of Campins matters. “It's earthy but very elegant. It's not roughness. He includes basic elements but elevates them to a different status,” adds Aurora Zubillaga, Managing Director of Sotheby’s Spain.

“It's not only about the physicality of the work; it's also very much about the transcendental side. It’s highly intellectual as well. That's a very good combination, combining strength and spirit. There are so many techniques used to recreate this earthier aspect [of the work]. It's also highly contemplative,” says Hautchamp.

The piece encapsulates not just Tapiès’s technical innovations but also the other-worldly dimension of the artist’s practice. The spiritual aspect - the idea that the work is a portal to other realms - was picked up by the artist and poet Roland Penrose who said: "[Tàpies's] art has a transcendental purpose", which shakes “[the viewer] out of the aberration of inauthenticity [leading] him to self-discovery".

The provenance of the piece is impeccable. Campins was offered by Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, in 1963. “You can't wish for better than that; the gallery was one of the most important contemporary art dealerships of the era,” Hautchamp adds. The work was later acquired by Robert B. Mayer of Chicago, passing to Galeria Juana Mordo, Madrid, where it was acquired by the current owner (Collection Yolanda Eleta de Fierro).

Antoni Tàpies is undergoing a renaissance in the wake of the 100^th anniversary of his birth last year. A vast survey of the artist’s oeuvre comprising 220 works dating from 1943 to 2012 is on show at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid (until 24 June). The next part of this vast retrospective opens at the Fundació Antoni Tàpies this summer (19 July-12 January 2025), focusing on rarely seen and lesser-known works drawn from private collections and international institutions.

Past Auction

Art Moderne et Contemporain Evening Auction

23 April 2024 | 6:00 PM CEST | Paris

Modern & Contemporary Art

The Paris Sales | April 2024