2010-2012
2010
Galeria Toni Tàpies, Barcelona, shows Antoni Tàpies’ most recent work, realised in his studio in Campins in summer 2009. The Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, reopens to the public after two years-closure for the rehabilitation of the building, conducted by the firm of architects Ábalos+Sentkiewicz Arquitectos. The inaugural exhibition is Antoni Tàpies. The Places of Art, including works from Tàpies’ private collection and works made by the artist during the last twenty years. To coincide with the reopening, the work Mitjó (Sock) (maquette, 1991; work, 2010) is installed on the terrace of the Fundació. Mitjó was a sculpture project for the Oval Hall of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, which, while having caused a great social impact both in favour and against, was never realised. The Fundació Antoni Tàpies publishes, in Catalan and Spanish, the first volume of the complete written works by Antoni Tàpies Memòria personal. Fragment per a una autobiografia (Obra escrita completa. Volum I) [A Personal Memoir. Fragments for an Autobiography (Complete Writings. Volume I)]. On 10 March, Pere Gimferrer and Josep Miquel Sobrer present the publication at the Auditorium of the Fundació. Together with Televisió de Catalunya and Enciclopèdia Catalana, the Fundació releases the documentary Te de Tàpies (T for Tàpies), directed by Carolina Tubau and produced by Televisió de Catalunya. Juan Carlos I of Spain bestows the title of marquis on the artist. He designs the logo commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the public presentation of the Associació d’Artistes Visuals de Catalunya (AAVC), an organisation of which he is president. He designs the poster commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Saint Francis Borgia. He is honoured by the 5th International Engraving Biennial of Douro 2010 (August–October). The Fundació Palau, Caldes d’Estrac, organises an exhibition of some the artist’s recent works entitled Antoni Tàpies. Look at the Hand…(October 2010 – January 2011). Galeria Fernando Santos, Oporto, organises the exhibition Antoni Tàpies. Graphic Works (November–December 2010).
2011
Galerie Lelong, Paris, shows the artist’s most recent work, made in his studio in Campins in the summer of 2010 (February–April 2011). At the same time, Galerie Boisserée, Cologne, organises the exhibition Antoni Tàpies. Malerei und Graphik. He participates in the exhibition Realisme(s). L’empremta de Courbet (Realism[s]. The Mark of Courbet), Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, MNAC, Barcelona. He produces the poster for the 12th Festival of Religious and World Music, Girona (28 June – 10 July 2011). The Fundació Antoni Tàpies, together with Indiana University Press, Bloomington & Indianapolis, publishes Collected Essays (Complete Writings. Volume II), the English version of the second and last volume of the artist’s complete written works. The publication includes La pràctica de l’art (The Practice of Art), Barcelona: Ariel, 1970; L’art contra l’estètica (Art Against Aesthetics), Barcelona: Ariel, 1974; La realitat com a art (Reality as Art), Barcelona: Laertes, 1982; Per un art modern i progressista (For a Modern and Progressive Art), Barcelona: Empúries, 1985; Valor de l’art (The Value of Art), Barcelona: Empúries, 1993, and L’art i els seus llocs (The Places of Art), Madrid: Ediciones Siruela, 1999, as well as an appendix of assorted texts that had either not been included in the above publications or postdate them. To celebrate the publication of this book, the Fundació Antoni Tàpies and the Institut Ramon Llull organise the symposium, The Critical Reception of the Work of Antoni Tàpies in the United States, at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, New York. The speakers are Manuel Borja-Villel, Serge Guilbaut and Julia E. Robinson, with Robert Lubar as moderator. He participates in the exhibition Louise Bourgeois. Antoni Tàpies. Rencontre, Galería Soledad Lorenzo, Madrid, October–November 2011. He exhibits paintings and drawings at the Galeria Toni Tàpies, Barcelona (Novembre 2011 – January 2012). The Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen, Siegen, organises the retrospective exhibition Bild, Körper, Pathos (November 2011 – February 2012).
2012
Antoni Tàpies dies at 88 years of age, February 6, in Barcelona. To pay tribute, Fundació Antoni Tàpies allows free acces to the institution for citizens, in order they can see some of Antoni Tàpies works on show.
