Antoni Tàpies was a Spanish artist known for his mixed-media practice incorporating found objects and natural materials. Social themes run throughout his highly textured and tactile artworks, influenced by political philosophy and the post-war state of the Spanish government. Born Antoni Tàpies i Puig on December 13, 1923 in Barcelona, Spain, the painter, sculptor, and lithographer began his career working within Surrealist traditions, notably influenced by fellow Catalan Joan Miró and Paul Klee. Tàpies later joined the Art Informel movement as his work turned toward the abstract in the 1950s. He died on February 6, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain where the Fundació Antoni Tàpies is located.