Roberto Matta Surreal Etching With Aquatint, Circa 1980

Item Details

Roberto Antonio (Echaurren) Matta (Chilean, 1911 – 2002)
Untitled (surreal), circa 1980
Etching with aquatint on laid paper
Signed to the lower right
Numbered 88/100

Roberto Matta was born in Santiago, Chile around 1911. He studied architecture at Colegio del Sagrado Corazón and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and then moved to Europe seeking work. In Paris, Matta started working at Le Corbusier’s studio as a draftsman, a position he held from 1933 to 1937. Around this time, Matta was introduced to Surrealism, Salvador Dalí and Andre Breton, who invited him to join the Parisian surrealists. Due to WWII, Matta alongside many European artists then immigrated to New York City. There he befriended artists of the New York School including Robert Motherwell and Arshile Gorky. Despite the strong divide between abstract and surrealist art in this time period, Matta refused to align with a singular movement. Rather than pursuing pure abstraction like the New York School, nor the personal psychoanalytic interests of the Surrealists, Matta continued in his own artistic direction, wanting to depict universal social experiences. Although he spent his life weaving in between movements, Matta had a prominent artistic career. His first solo exhibition was shown at Julian Levy Gallery in New York in 1940, and his first retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1957. Towards the end of his life, Matta became heavily involved in Latin American politics and continued to create art until his passing in 2002.

Condition

- abrasions and scratches to the frame; light toning to the sheet; buckling and creases throughout; some stains present.

Dimensions

- measures the frame; plate measures 21" W x 14.25" H.

• Item not examined outside of mounting.

Item #

ITMGJ13008