Antoni Tàpies Study Days. Natural History Series, 1950 and 1951

The Secret Life of Forms: Readings on Natural History Series

The study days The Secret Life of Forms: Readings on “Natural History” offers insight into the series Antoni Tàpies produced between 1950 and 1951, a collection of 30 drawings on paper that are essential to understanding the artist’s explorations during the early years of his career.

Made while he was living in Paris and linked to the artistic, philosophical and political concerns of the post-war period, Natural History presents a universe of forms oscillating between the organic and the architectural realms, and between the body, nature and social structures. Combining a repertoire of recurring forms and symbols with an exploration of marks, traces and textures, the drawings display an understanding of nature that is dynamic, transformative and rich in meaning, rather than contemplative.

The conference invites participants to consider this series from various angles and examine the forms, materials and imaginaries that comprise it. Presentations will address issues relating to the construction of the body of work, the material biographies of the drawings, drawing as a living organism, hybrid forms and the limits of classification, as well as the relationships between nature, culture, politics and knowledge, among other topics.

The programme will take place over two sessions, featuring lectures, readings and open Q&A sessions.

Programme

9 December 2026

6 pm · Presentation of the study days by the Museu Tàpies

6.10 pm · Lecture by Isabel Valverde

6.50 pm · Lecture by Aldo Urbano

7.30 pm · Reading by Pol Guasch

8 pm · Open Q&A session

8.30 pm · Close

10 December 2026

6 pm · Presentation of the programme by the Museu Tàpies

6.10 pm · Lecture by Marcos Augusto

6.50 pm · Lecture by Daniel López del Rincón

7.30 pm · Reading by Núria Martínez Vernis

8 pm · Open Q&A session

8.30 pm · Close

The study days will continue next year with a second encounter devoted to exploring in greater depth the issues raised during this first edition. The participants’ contributions will subsequently be compiled in a publication, planned for release in 2028 as part of the Museu Tàpies’s book series.

The complete programme will be published soon.

Coinciding with these conferences, the Museu Tàpies will publish the first volume of the new collection Contemporary Views on Tàpies, arising from international symposia and study conferences, such as those held in 2024 and 2025 on the Teresa Series (1966) and the Letters to Teresa series (1971–1974). This volume will include texts from the papers presented by Maria Josep Balsach, José Manuel Cuesta Abad, Anna Gual, Rasha Omran, Valentín Roma, Gabriel Ventura, Pedro G. Romero, Andrea Soto Calderón, Blanca Llum Vidal, Raül Garrigasait and Eloy Fernández Porta.

In a year, then, the Museu Tàpies will have completed its new editorial line which, together with the aforementioned collection, includes the reissue of Antoni Tàpies’ essays and essays on the artist by the winners of the International Essay Prize “Yesterday’s Action, Today’s Thought”, promoted within the framework of the collaboration between the Museu Tàpies and the Antoni Tàpies Chair – UPF in Contemporary Art and Thought, and other intellectuals invited to participate.

[Image: Antoni Tàpies. Flora. Natural History Series (1950-1951). Museu Tàpies Collection, Barcelona. © Comissió Tàpies / VEGAP, 2026.]