ANTONI TÀPIES | Pintura-Collage Òxid Vermell (Rusty Red Painting-Collage)

Private Collection, Europe
Fernando Durán Subastas de Arte, Madrid, 6 October 2010, Lot 572
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Rome, Agenzia d'Arte Moderna, Antoni Tàpies 1950 - 1974: Creador de la Materia, October - November 1977, n.p., illustrated in colour 

Joan Teixidor, Antoni Tàpies: Papers, Cartons i Collages, Barcelona 1964, p. 112, illustrated
Anna Agusti, Tàpies: The Complete Works: Volume 1: 1943 - 1960, Barcelona 1988, p. 464, no. 889, illustrated

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the burgundy is slightly lighter Condition: This work is in very good and original condition. There is evidence of wear with some associated rub marks along the edges and corner tips. Very close inspection reveals a hairline crack to the extreme lower edge, towards the lower right corner, and a few very fine tension cracks along the edges. Further very close inspection reveals a thin layer of fine dust fibres which have adhered in places. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
"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."

"I was searching for images which would be impossible to describe either as amorphous or precise, full or empty, in which one cannot tell where the bodies begin and the space ends. It seemed to be the will to show more than ever the trap of reason, the ‘net’ of the world… And I put all this into practice not with the simplifications of the classical ‘abstracts’, but rather with techniques which were more experimental and more unusual, which had been touched upon only by some of the masters of the surrealist period" (Antoni Tàpies cited in: Antoni Tàpies, Memòria Personal, Barcelona 1977, pp. 297-98).

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the Fundació Antoni Tàpies.