The oeuvre of the Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies is characterized by encrypted signs and codes, symbols that can be associated with ethereal-magical ciphers. The widely traveled and universally educated artist uses elements from various cultures. Yet, he is essentially inspired by his Catalan homeland, by memories of his childhood, by the graffiti on the walls of Barcelona, and by the Catalan tradition of organic ornamentation. In his writings and lectures, the politically active artist opposes the single-minded rationality of capitalist society as well as any form of cultural dogma.

The present work, “Cama i blau” (Catalan for “leg and blue”) from 1993, also draws on Tàpies' own rich repertoire of iconographic symbols. He combines the recurring motif of the cross with elements reminiscent of numbers or letters. The light component that runs across the picture plane horizontally resembles a human leg, standing out in relief and, alongside footprints, representing another recurring element in his work. However, the eye-catching feature of the composition is undoubtedly the bright blue T-shaped element, reminiscent of Yves Klein, which is incorporated into the layer of paint like a collage. In Tàpies' understanding of art, the combination of abstract and figurative elements makes no difference: “Art is a sign, a thing that evokes reality in our imagination. So I see no contradiction between abstraction and figuration, as long as they evoke that idea of reality in us.” (Antoni Tàpies 1955, quoted from: Kritisches Lexikon der Gegenwartskunst, Issue 5, 1989, p. 2) Shortly after its creation, the work was exhibited in the group exhibition “Magic Blue” at the Fondation Beyeler alongside works by Yves Klein, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, and other painters who paid homage to the color blue in their work in very different ways. [AR]