Matta
Cosmos Mental
1991, oil on canvas, 6′ 7″ x 10′
Matta
Montre qui montre le montreur
1997, oil on canvas, 5′ 9″ x 8′ 8″
Exhibition at Pace Gallery celebrates Matta’s centennial On view at the Pace Gallery from November 7, 2011 through January 28, 2012, ‘Matta: A Centennial Celebration’ features 14 late paintings by Chilean painter Roberto Matta (1911-2002).]]>
Source: Pace Gallery / theartwolf.com
Often labeled “the last surrealist”, Roberto Matta is considered one of the greatest influences on the development of Abstract Expressionism. During a career that lasted seven decades, Matta created a fascinating and personal universe of organic and cosmic lifeforms.
“Pushing beyond the Surrealists’ typical Freudian-inspired work,” -the Pace Gallery explained in a press release- “Matta sought to create an art that was not purely introspective, but that instead spoke to a broader social context“. In Matta’s own words, the function of art is “to unveil the enormous economic, cultural, and emotional forces that materially interact in our lives“. Matta was politically active and supported the socialist government of Salvador Allende.
The Pace Gallery noted that Matta’s work is held in more than sixty public collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris. In 2009, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art acquired Matta’s monumental “Burn, Baby, Burn” (1965– 66) for a reported $1,2 million. The same year, Matta’s “Endless Nudes” (1941-42) was auctioned at Sotheby’s for $2,490,500.
“Matta: A Centennial Celebration” follows “Matta 1911–2011”, a major exhibition at the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao and the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern. It also precedes “Centenario Matta: 11.11.11” at the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda in Santiago de Chile.
Related content
Visiones: 20th Century Latin Art at Boca Raton Museum of Art (exhibition, 2008, including Matta’s “Re-Evolvers”)
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