Tàpies’ fame has taken on a singular and paradoxical form these days. He is so well-known around the world that it is no longer considered necessary to mention him as an inspiration for whole swathes of contemporary art. Giving basic graphic symbols (handprints, hearts, footprints, crosses, arrows, etc.) their full power as primitive writings, quasi-hieroglyphics, their power as scars, has always been one of the objectives of the paintings of Antoni Tàpies.

With this exhibition of thirty or so previous unseen works, Galerie Lelong & Co., with the support of the artist’s family, has chosen to pay tribute to the memory of this great man, who exhibited at 13 rue de Téhéran from the autumn of 1967, and showcase just how contemporary his work continues to be. Today, a new generation of artists in America, Asia and Africa takes inspiration from Tàpies’ work. With this new exhibition, we are celebrating fifty years of collaboration and reciprocal loyalty.

In addition to a number of exhibition catalogues, Galerie Lelong has published two volumes of writing by Antoni Tàpies, La réalité comme art and L’art et ses lieux. A catalogue, Repères n°170, reproducing all the works exhibited, and including texts by Tobias Ostrander, chief curator of the Perez Art Museum in Miami and the writer Philippe Lançon, will be published.