Antoni Clavé 'The spirit of the warrior'

Curated by Aude Hendgen, Art Historian, Head of the Antoni Clavé Archives &
Sitor Senghor, Independent curator and galerist
April 22 – October 23, 2022 | Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti

Born in Barcelona in 1913, Antoni Clavé knew the experience of war as early as 1937 then the defeat of the republican army, exile and incarceration. The theme of the warrior is present in his art early on, in his drawings made in the camps. 

His subject matter is clear: Kings and Warriors, transformed, transmuted even, as Pierre Daix described, thanks to the assemblage technique. This theme of the fighter holds a privileged place, particularly in relation to the statuary and African masks which he surrounds himself with in his parisian studio: his first bronze sculptures made in 1960 represent warriors. They are also present in his object-assemblages and his “armoires”, at the monumental scale, they are always the subjects with the kings in his “tapisseries- assemblage.” It is through the prism of memory of African masks that an original look on the art of Antoni Clavé will be presented.

The exhibition “Spirit of the warrior” proposed by the ACP Palazzo Franchetti will celebrate the return of Antoni Clavé in Venice and some acclaimed works of art in 1984 will be presented again. It will then be hosted from the 23rd of March to the 27th of May 2023 at the Donwahi Foundation in Abidjan.

Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti
S. Marco, 2847
30124 Venice