Antoni Tapies
Antoni Tapies
Antoni Tàpies i Puig, 1st Marquess of Tàpieswas a Spanish painter, sculptor and art theorist, who became one of the most famous European artists of his generation...
NationalitySpanish
ProfessionSculptor
Date of Birth13 December 1923
CountrySpain
philosophy reflection study
I am interested in study, reflection, philosophy - but always as a dilettante. I also consider myself a dilettante as a painter.
struggle reality ideas
Like a researcher in his laboratory, I am the first spectator of the suggestions drawn from the materials. I unleash their expressive possibilities, even if I do not have a very clear idea of what I am going to do. As I go along with my work I formulate my thought, and from this struggle between what I want and the reality of the material - from this tension - is born an equilibrium.
block painting rational
Painting quickly is a calculated act to block out rational thought.
body materials highest
The highest wisdom adopts the humblest of bodies.
imagination creative important
If one draws things in a manner which provides only the barest clue to their meaning, the viewer is forced to fill in the gaps by using his own imagination. He is compelled to participate in the creative act, which I consider very important.
art thinking meaning-of-life
Art should startle the viewer into thinking about the meaning of life.
change people
If I can't change the world, at least I want to change the way people look at it.
reality creating people
Reminding people what in reality it is all about, giving them a theme on which to ponder, creating a shock within them, pulling them out of the delusion of non authenticity, enabling them to become aware of their true possibilities.
real lying expression
There is something evocative about the idea of destruction. This act of destruction is the expression of an idea... that what we call reality is not real at all. When I draw a head, for example, I immediately feel an urge to destroy it, to erase it, because the drawing only captures an outward appearance, and for me the vital issue is what lies behind the visual form of the head.
games vision emotion
The material presence of the work only serves as a conveyer launching an invitation to the observer to take part of the comprehensive game of the thousand and one emotions and visions.
reality thinking everyday
When I talk of reality, I am always thinking of essentials. Profundity is not located in some remote, inaccessible region. It is rooted in everyday life.
reality achieve thorough
To achieve contact with reality is not to transport oneself elsewhere; it is not transcendence but thorough immersion in one's surroundings - a reality which is neither purely physical nor metaphysical, but both at once.
people world want
My illusion is to have something to transmit. If I can't change the world, at least I want to change the way people look at it.
art reality mind
I often told the fanatics of realism that there is no such thing as realism in art: it only exists in the mind of the observer. Art is a symbol, a thing conjuring up reality in our mental image. That is why I don't see any contradiction between abstract and figurative art either.