Barcelona Spain – 1913 -2005

Clavé was one of Spain’s best known and most celebrated artists. His work evolved from a baroque, ornamental style to a pure, minimal aesthetic.

Clavé attended the School of Fine Arts in Calle Aribau in Barcelona. There he models in the class of Angel Ferrán and draws under José Mongrell. Together with Salavdor Ortiga he experiments with different materials in 1934 to reach a new visual expression. Together with Martí Bas he designs the stage sets for Ramón Vinas in Barcelona 1938. In 1944 it comes to the first encounter with Picasso. That year he exhibits in the gallery Henry Joly in Paris. In 1946 he participates together with Picasso, Bòres, Dominguez, Florès, Lobo Fenosa and others in the exhibition “Spanish Painters in Prague” and designs stage sets for “Los Caprichos” and “Carmen” in Paris. In 1949 he once more dedicates himself to designing the stage sets and costumes for “Carmen” for the “Ballets de Paris” by Roland Petits. In 1949 and 1950 Clavé exhibits in Malmo and Gothenburg. After some more exhibitions he designs the stage set and the custumes for Frederico Garcia Lorca’s “La Casa de Bernarda Alba”in Biarritz and Paris. In 1956 he is the award-winner at the biennial art festival in Venice and receives the Matarasso award at the 4th biennial art festival in Sao Paulo in 1957. In 1982 the artist creates a wall picture for the airport Barajas in Madrid. Until today he is represented with exhibitions in galleries as well as museums in Europe, Asia and the USA on a regular basis, e. g. at the Musée Rath in Genevain 1961, at the Centre George Pompidou in Paris in 1978, at the Metropolitan Teien Art Museum in Tokio in 1986 and many more.

Collections
Museo de Bellas artes de Bilbao
Museum of Modern Art, Paris
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
British Museum, London
Tate Gallery

Exhibitions
1984 Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale dedicated to Antoni Clavé.
1978 Retrospective at the Centre Pompidou Musée d’Art Moderne. Paris, France.

Literature
1998 “Antoni Clavé: Photographs.” Antoni Clave. Published by Actar. 96 pages