Antoni Clavé

Antoni Clavé was a Spanish painter, sculptor, stage designer, and costume designer born in Barcelona, Spain in 1913. Clavé is one of Spain’s most celebrated artists, known for his abstract paintings and collages.

Clavé served in the Republican army during the Spanish Civil War, and moved to Paris as a refugee in 1939 to work as an illustrator. His first solo exhibition took place in 1940 at the Au sans Pareil bookshop that once hosted leading Dada artist Max Ernst. Clavé was heavily influenced by Picasso after meeting the artist in 1944. He also crafted sets and costumes internationally, and was nominated for two Academy Awards in the categories of Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design for the film Hans Christian Anderson (1952). By the late 1950’s, Clavé began designing sculptural and textile objects.

In 1965, he moved near Saint-Tropez, France and continued to put on exhibitions. Clavé’s work is featured in the Tate Gallery, Museo des Bellas Artes de Bilbao, Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the British Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, among others. He died in Saint-Tropez in 2005.