Repliquer II 1981

Antoni Tapies made this, I don't know when exactly, but look at the layering, and scratching of the paint. You can feel him testing the materials: seeing what they can do. The ochre ground of the painting is alive with marks and stains. Above a brown form are rows of commas, like watching tadpoles swim. You can see the ways Tapies experiments with texture; he lets the physicality of the medium shape the work’s emotional impact. I imagine him in his studio, maybe a bit anxious but mostly curious, pushing the paint around with a brush, maybe even his fingers. There is a conversation happening between accident and intention. Tapies is asking, "What happens if I do this? What if I try that?"— a constant back and forth, a dance between control and chance. You know, we all stand on the shoulders of giants, and Tapies was definitely looking at folks like Dubuffet and maybe even Klee. Painting is like a big, ongoing conversation, and each artist adds their own voice.