One of the world's greatest living artists, Antoni Tàpies, wraps up his landmark show at Waddington Galleries in London.



One of the world's greatest living artists, Antoni Tàpies, is almost entirely self-taught. His work, which blossomed from an interest in German Romanticism and Holbein and Ingres in his late teens into a move away from figurative art in the mid-1950s, is frequently described as "informalist" for its lack of pre-conceived preparation and its use of everyday objects. His expressive and experimental use of media and technique started in his mid-20s when he began to use impasto and collage, developing a style based on mixed media and the eventual incorporation of found objects. Tàpies's work since then has grown to encompass mosaics, designs for stained-glass windows, and an expansive handling of sculptural forms. This exhibition at London's Waddington Galleries brings together 18 paintings from the last five years, some of them getting their first public outing. Indicative of his signature style, materials such as sand, newspaper and thick paint are joined by items like a towel or a shoe and the employment of graffiti to create artworks that are often poetic in their wild energetic outbursts.