Tàpies’s graphic work has its own symbol-laden language based on the artist’s recognisable vocabulary of signs, objects, calligraphy and matter, the perennial elements of his compositions.

Like many of the artists from his time, Tàpies moved from one medium to another, effortlessly combining silkscreen, , , , carborundum, and so on to produce unorthodox works. His heterodoxy is even more evident in his print work, where one can appreciate many cuts, overheating of varnishes to obtain a craquelure effect, thicker resins than usual, to name just a few examples. He even used modern photomechanical reproduction techniques to increase the expressiveness of his works, including elements like playing cards or newspaper clippings, a resource also employed by other artists.

He added signs to his work spontaneously, though on occasion, as he himself said, they have a specific meaning: “A as a beginning, a limit; T as a stylisation of the crucifixion and also as my own initials. The cross as a place where coordinates meet … the A and the T together could mean the union of my name and surname with that of Teresa, my partner.”

These examples come from a series called Retornos de lo vivo lejano, with poems by Rafael Alberti and 15 lithographs by Antoni Tàpies, made in 1977 and overseen by Roberto Otero and Rafael Santos Torroella. A separate edition of 30 suites of larger lithographs was also made, signed by the artist and presented in portfolios numbered in Roman numerals.