Lectura - Antoni Tàpies

A 1996 mixed media composition by Antoni Tàpies, featuring a sculptural arm form juxtaposed with delicate, white calligraphic symbols of reading.

Antoni Tàpies, a central figure in post-war European art, produced Lectura in 1996. This work demonstrates his characteristic approach to materiality and the integration of symbolic forms. Tàpies often utilised unconventional materials to create surfaces that resemble walls or ancient tablets, reflecting his interest in the physical reality of objects and the traces of human existence.

The composition features a dark, atmospheric background that provides a void-like space for the central elements. A sculptural, arm-like form emerges from the darkness, rendered with a tactile quality that suggests weathered stone or plaster. This physical presence is contrasted by the delicate, white calligraphic lines that depict a book and a pair of spectacles. These symbols of reading and intellectual engagement appear almost ghost-like, floating against the heavy, textured ground.

Tàpies frequently employed signs and marks that evoke a sense of mystery or hidden meaning. The cross-like incision on the arm and the scribbled, illegible script suggest a preoccupation with communication, silence, and the limits of language. By combining the sculptural with the graphic, the artist invites the viewer to consider the relationship between the material world and the abstract concepts of knowledge and perception. The work avoids clear narrative, instead offering a meditative space where the viewer encounters the tension between the tangible and the ephemeral. The muted palette and the rough, uneven surface treatment are typical of his later period, where he continued to explore the expressive potential of matter itself. This print captures the depth and texture of the original, allowing for a close examination of the artist's mark-making and his unique visual vocabulary.