Broad, sweeping painting traces draw the gaze directly into the painting. Irregular splashes of colour and structures enter into an exciting dialogue with the flat, powerfully gestural sections. The work, in its earthy, 'fleshy' tones, is characterised by a lively surface texture. Striking notches, which have a sign-like character, set additional accents.
Materiality already played an important role in Tàpies's early works. For example, he described a viscous mixture of colours he once used as "a kind of most primal, elemental matter, a materia prima in which the real nature revealed itself, the 'spiritual' reality" (Tàpies 1988, p. 224). The choice of his materials remains as free as the interpretation of his works. Tàpies's main focus is on the viewer's knowledge as gained through own interpretations and reflections, and so even a purely abstract work like "Color de carne" offers diverse levels of meaning.
