Clavé, Antoni

BIOGRAPHY OF ANTONI CLAVÉ

Barcelona, 1913 - Saint Tropez, 2005

Painter, sculptor, engraver, illustrator and set designer, Antoni Clavé is one of the great figures of 20th century painting. From his figurative beginnings, he has evolved throughout different stages towards abstraction.

Trained at the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes in Barcelona, he received training in modeling with Ángel Ferrant and in painting with José Mongrell. A Republican combatant during the Spanish Civil War, Clavé settled in Paris in 1939. In those days, his experience in advertising posters and collage allowed him to undertake in a very personal way the art of lithography and the creation of various assemblages and sculptures, after his contact with Picasso in 1944.

Recognized in Spain after his exhibition at the Sala Gaspar in Barcelona (1956), Clavé already enjoyed international prestige and received awards such as:

Halimark of New York (1948)
David Bright of the Venice Biennale (1954)
Tokyo International Biennial (1957).
Continuator of surrealism and present in numerous international exhibitions, Clavé's work can be found in important museums and collections, among which stand out:

Bilbao Fine Arts Museum
Picasso Museum of Antibes
Tate Gallery
Museum of Modern Art, Paris
British Museum, London
Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Museum of São Paulo
Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid
Antoni Clavé died in Saint Tropez on August 30, 2005 and was buried in the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris.