Antoni Tàpies

Galerie Maeght, Barcelona
Galerie Lelong, Paris
Galleri Haaken, Oslo
Private Collection, Oslo
Sale: Sotheby's, London, Contemporary Art, 21 June 2007, Lot 41
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Barcelona, Galerie Maeght, Tàpies, 1981, no. 18, illustrated in colour
Oslo, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Sal Haaken, 2003, p. 215, illustrated in colour

Miguel Fernández-Braso, Conversaciones con Tàpies, Madrid 1981, p. 97, illustrated in colour
Carmine Benincasa, Maurizio Calvesi and Vittorio Sgarbi, Tàpies: Opere dal 1946 al 1982, Venice 1982, p. 63, pl. 62, illustrated in colour
Anna Agustí, Tàpies: The Complete Works, Volume 4: 1976-1981, Barcelona 1995, p. 290, no. 3739, illustrated

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the colour of the wooden background tends more towards a sunflower yellow in the original. The catalogue illustration also fails to fully convey the rich quality of the of the textured surface apparent in the original. Condition: This work is in very good and original condition. All surface irregularities are in keeping with the artist's working process and choice of medium.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A fantastic example of Antoni Tàpies’ mature oeuvre on an impressive scale, Impresión de Silla from 1980 wonderfully encapsulates the artist’s lifelong fascination with matter. In the manner that so characterises his paintings, Tàpies incised the thick surface of the canvas to imprint the image of a chair at the centre of the composition. In his late teens, a two-year period of convalescence from a lung disease had forced the artist to lead a quiet lifestyle. Confined to his bed, and with the furniture in his bedroom as his closest point of reference, Tàpies spent most of his time drawing, exploring his imagination and eventually developing an innovative style of abstraction that ignored traditional material hierarchies that would become his signature technique. It is thus natural that over time, not only a wide variety of materials such as straw, sand, and cement became integral elements of his work, but also the familiar objects that were close to him during his illness became more common in his artwork. In Tàpies’ canvases’, chairs, tables and beds are subject matter that is charged with evocative emotion. Indeed, the artist once reflected: “Painting can be everything. It can be a brilliant sun ray. It can be a man’s footstep on life’s path or why not a foot stamping the ground to say ‘enough’. It can be the soft air full of morning promise or an acrid prison stench. It can be blood stains from a wound or the song of all people in the blue and yellow sky. It can be what we are, what is today, now, what will be always” (the artist quoted in: Exhibition Catalogue, London, Waddington Galleries, Antoni Tàpies, 2006, p. 7).