“I often told the fanatics of realism that there is no such thing as realism in art: it only exists in the mind of the observer. Art is a symbol, a thing conjuring up reality in our mental image. That is why I don't see any contradiction between abstract and figurative art either.”

— Antoni Tàpies

Source: undated quotes, Tàpies, Werke auf Papier 1943 – 2003,' (2004), p. 25.

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Antoni Tàpies 39

Catalan painter, sculptor and art theorist 1923–2012

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“I often told the fanatics of realism that there is no such thing as realism in art: it only exists in the mind of the observer. Art is a symbol, a thing conjuring up reality in our mental image. That is why I don't see any contradiction between abstract and figurative art either.”

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