Antoni Tàpies (Barcelona, 1923 – 2012) left his studies in law to dedicate himself to drawing and music. In 1946 he met the poet Joan Brossa who introduced him to the work of Paul Klee and brought him into the cultural life of Barcelona. Along with Joan Ponç, Modest Cuixart, Joan-Josep Tharrats, and the philosopher Arnau Puig, Tàpies co-created the magazine Dau al Set [Dice on Seven](1948-1956), which had an influential role in Catalan postwar art.

After his first exhibition at Galeries Laietanes in 1950, he began his international career. The critic Michel Tapié hailed Tàpies as one of the greatest representatives of art autre [other art]. In 1953 gallery owner Bender Kinland invited him to exhibit his work in Chicago. That same year he exhibited works at Martha Jackson Gallery in New York. His compositions included those that were oneiric and magical, to those that incorporated the use of everyday elements (hay, sand) and anthropomorphic motifs (feet, hands). He used a variety of materials including foam, aerosols, and varnishes.

During the 1980s Tàpies returned to figuration and created his first large format ceramic sculptures in collaboration with German ceramic artist Hans Spinner. In 1990 the Antoni Tàpies Foundation opened in Barcelona with works belonging to the collection of the artist and his wife Teresa.