Manolo Millares and Antoni Tàpies are two of the most recognized artists from European Post-war abstraction. Both born in Spain, they are best known for their abstract assemblages and paintings. They gained international repute in the late 50s and early 60s. In the mid-50s, Millares helped found the avant-garde group “El Paso” (The Step), an important Informalist collective of artists in Spain active until the 60s. They aimed to innovate and renew the Spanish painting tradition through a radical new use of textures, materials and graphism. Working during the same period, Tàpies was a celebrated artist who played an important part of the Art Informel movement. He pioneered mixed media creation and is known for incorporating untraditional materials into his work like dust, earth, and found objects.
