Spanish artist Antoni Tàpies dies aged 88

The avant-garde Spanish painter,Antoni Tàpies has died in Barcelona aged 88.

Tàpies was hailed as one of the biggest names in European contemporary art for his striking abstract canvases and compositions in which he sometimes used waste material.

A sculptor and art theorist, in his early years he was also a political activist working against the Spanish dictatorship of General Franco.

Despite being self-taught due to long spells of ill health, Tàpies won an international reputation and examples of his work can be found in numerous major exhibitions worldwide.

He also received nearly 50 awards including the Prince of Asturias Prize for the Arts in 1990.

The artist’s death comes a year and half after his last public appearance, at the opening of the remodelled Tàpies Foundation which is dedicated to contemporary art in Barcelona.

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