Roberto Matta
Yesterday I took advantage of the MCA’s free day, and saw a showing of Roberto Matta’s early work. I wasn’t familiar with him before the show, and only knew that he was a surrealist. His work differs from most surrealism that I’m familiar with though, more abstract and only vaguely figurative.
He was born in Chile, and studied both architecture and interior design, even working for Le Corbusier at one time. This background is evident in his paintings, showing up in his attention to detail and structure. He often uses lines that can alternately be read as either topographic or defining some sort of vortex. There seems to be varying areas of gravitational pull sprinkled throughout the canvas, distorting and attracting the objects nearby.
Unfortunately, the most comprehensive site about Matta is now offline due to a cease and desist order that was served to them. Thank god for the Wayback Machine. Check out this massive gallery of Matta’s work, categorized chronologically.
The Bachelors Twenty Years After, 1943, 96.5 × 127 cm.
Science, conscience et patience du Vitreur, 1944, 200 × 450 cm.
A Grave Situation, 1946, 137.2 × 195.6 cm.
Je m’honte, 1948-9, 195.5 × 142.2 cm.
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