"Pintura-Collage" is an outstanding example of Tàpies's material paintings, characterised by its multi-faceted texture. Although the work with its earthy tones appears very dense and confusing at first glance due to its variety of materials and small-scale structure, it reveals some principles of order: In the centre, a fabric is arranged in an ellipse shape, which is overlaid by a piece of wood on the central perpendicular. In the outer area, lighter accents suggest a kind of visual framing. While Tàpies reveals the canvas in some places, other areas seem cluttered with earthy particles. The dark colouring gives the work a certain heaviness; at the same time, the interplay with lighter sections and reflections creates a composition rich in contrast.
With his material paintings from the late 1950s onwards, Tàpies increasingly departed from the classical picture and thus dissolved the boundary between painting and sculpture. Instead, the focus shifted to the surface and the image carrier. Although Tàpies's engagement with texture and matter is crucial to his art, he pursued a completely different intention: his works serve as mediators on the viewer’s path to self-knowledge. Tàpies understands art as "a communication with things" and "a kind of contact with an all-encompassing matter that determines the whole existence of the universe" (Catoir 1997, p. 89).
