Rinzen, the title of this installation by Antoni Tàpies, means ‘sudden awakening’ in Japanese, and refers to the awakening of consciousness and knowledge. Installed by the artist in MACBA in 1998, its rich symbology and visual impact have made it one of the Museum’s most representative works. Although Tàpies envisaged the final composition as a dialogue with the architecture of the building, it had previously been part of a theatrical set and presented at the Venice Biennale. 

In 1989, this monumental iron bed, inspired by those in old hospitals, was part of the set made for Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo, which was presented at the Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona. Four years later, in 1993, the artist took elements of that set, converting them into the installation he presented in the Spanish pavilion of the Venice Biennale, a city that at the time was in very close proximity to the war taking place in former Yugoslavia. The installation was awarded the Golden Lion for Painting. 

Five years later, in 1998, Tàpies installed the work permanently in MACBA. The installation was adapted to the Museum’s spaces, becoming an element connecting the different floors, as well as the interior to the exterior. In Rinzen, everyday objects, sculpture, painting and graffiti come together. Structured in three parts, the first is the gigantic white bed from which woollen blankets, five spring bed bases and pillows hang precariously. Installed vertically on one of the walls at the entrance to the Museum, it emanates a feeling of discomfort and instability. The bed, a recurring element in Tàpies’ work, refers not only to the war in Bosnia, but also to the long convalescence that the artist experienced in his youth due to a lung disease. 

The second part of the installation is a pictorial group facing the hanging bed, made up of four matter paintings by Tàpies. In them we read the words Dissabte (Saturday in Catalan) and Sabat (the day dedicated to rest and prayer in the Jewish faith), as well as symbols that reoccur throughout the artist’s iconography, such as crosses and scissors. 

Finally, located on the terrace of the building, there are ten metal chairs painted white and linked by an undulating, black metal structure. Slightly removed from the ensemble is a chair located in front of a wall on which the artist painted a pair of glasses, alluding to vision and inner contemplation. 

This complex installation has very diverse elements and symbols. We invite you to stop and contemplate it, guided by your intuition, just as the artist himself would have wished.