ANTONI CLAVÉ i SANMARTÍ (Barcelona 1913- St. Tropez 2005).
Antoni Clavé is one of the most important artists in the Catalan Contemporary Art. He developed his artistic activity in almost every field: painting, engraving, lithography, collage, sculpture and photography. He studied in Barcelona and started his career as a designer for articles a...
ANTONI CLAVÉ i SANMARTÍ (Barcelona 1913- St. Tropez 2005).
Antoni Clavé is one of the most important artists in the Catalan Contemporary Art. He developed his artistic activity in almost every field: painting, engraving, lithography, collage, sculpture and photography. He studied in Barcelona and started his career as a designer for articles and cinematographic posters.
He participated in the Spanish Civil War with republican army and in 1939 he moved to France where he started to produce lithographs. This activity kept him in touch with publishing world. He illustrated many books, between them “Carmen” from Merimée (1946), "The Queen of Spades" from Pushkin (1946). In 1942 he met Picasso and decided to focus his work towards still life and urban landscape tending to the abstraction. At this moment he was an international artist. In 1954 Clavé decided to dedicate himself only to paint and started to include in his work strange iconography of medieval figures, bearded kings and dolls. The evolution to abstraction was unstoppable: the content was losing importance and the texture and visual aspects of atmosphere and background started to be essential.
In 1956 Clavé began to use the collage as a painting technique and the composition scheme incorporating themes typical of informalism. This year he presented his work in Barcelona, from that moment his exhibitions were regular. Besides painting he worked with sculpture, tapestry and set design for theatre, ballet and opera: “Carmen”, “The House of Bernarda Alba”, “The Marriage of Figaro”…
Some prizes: Venice Biennale (1958), Sao Paulo Biennale (1957), Tokyo Engraving Biennale (1958). In 1978 Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris organized Clavé’s individual exhibition. In 1984 his work was a central theme of a Spanish pavilion in Venice Biennale.
Antoni Clavé was a very close friend of the Gaspar family, and during the second part of XX century exhibited many times in Sala Gaspar as well as they collaborated in many Clavé’s exhibition around the world. Joan Gaspar junior, a dear friend from Clavé for more than 50 years, has presented several exhibitions in Galeria Joan Gaspar.
Graphic work Artist: Antoni Clavé Title: "La nappe imprimée" Year: 1968 Media: Engraving, carborundum in colour Size: paper 56 x 76 cm., plate 40 x 70 cm. Edition: edition 1978, variation, different colours. 75 copies signed and numbered, from 1/75 to 75/75, 10 artist's copies from I/X to X/X and 10 H.C. copies from A/J to J/J. Cataloging: "Obra...
Graphic work Artist: Antoni Clavé Title: "Tous en selle" Year: 1982 Media: Etching, engraving, carborundum in colour and relief Size: paper and plate 58 x 38 cm. Edition: 75 copies signed and numbered, from 1/75 to 75/75 and 10 artist's copies from I/X to X/X and 10 H.C. from A/J to J/J Cataloging: "Obra gràfica Sala Gaspar" 242
Catalogue Artist: diferrent artists Title: "Vermell Vermell" (catalogue from the collective exhibition that took place at the Galeria Joan Gaspar, Barcelona) Year: November 1997 - January 1997 Size: 27 x 19,1 x 0,6 cm. Pages: 47 Illustrations: 31 (photography: Jaume Blassi) Attention! The colour that you see at you screen may vary from the original...
Catalogue Artist: diferrent artists Title: "Colección de la Galeria Joan Gaspar" (catalogue from the collective exhibition that took place at the Museo Pedro de Osma, Perú, Lima) Year: November 2001 Size: 27 x 21 x 0,6 cm. Pages: 67 Illustrations: 55 (photography: Jaume Blassi) Attention! The colour that you see at you screen may vary from the original...
Historical poster Artist: Antoni Clavé Title: "Sala Gaspar, Barcelona" Year: 1983-1984 Size: 76x 49,5 cm. Attention! The colour that you see at you screen may vary from the original poster. Tiny foxing spots may be present.
Graphic work Artist: Antoni Clavé Título: "Poison au fond rouge" Year: 1961 Media: Color lithography Size: paper 106x76 cm., plate 106x76 cm. Edition: 23/50
Graphic work Artist: Antoni Clavé Título: "Empreinte" Year: 1967 Media: Color lithography Size: paper 65x50 cm., plate 40x30 cm. Edition: 3/35