Roberto Antonio Sebastián Matta Echaurren
1911 Santiago de Chile – 2002 Civitavecchia
Roberto Matta was a Chilean architect, sculptor and painter.
After studying architecture in Chile, Matta went to Paris in 1933, worked there in Le Corbusier's architectural office until 1934 and then sought out encounters with other artists on numerous trips. In Spain he met the poets Rafael Alberti and Federico García Lorca and, through Garcia Lorca, met Salvador Dalí, who in turn recommended him to André Breton. In 1937, without being asked, he declared him a surrealist. Matta first wrote about architecture for the surrealist revue Minotaure, then he traveled again. In London he became acquainted with the sculptor Henry Moore and the artist Roland Penrose, in Scandinavia with the architect Alvar Aalto. In 1938 Matta began to paint himself and immediately took part in the large exhibition "Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme" in Paris. In 1939 he emigrated to New York City in view of the danger of war and was very successful there as a painter. In 1940, just six months after his arrival, he showed his work in the gallery of the art dealer Julien Levy, who represented the interests of the Surrealists in New York.
After a stay in Chile, the artist returned to Paris in 1948 and finally settled in Italy, residing in Tarquinia in Lazio since the 1960s. In the 1950s he shared a studio with Fabius von Gugel (1910–2000) in Rome. He repeatedly worked with students in Cuba in the 1960s and took part in the first cultural congress in Havana in 1968. He was also active during the student riots of May 1968 and took a vehement stance on Pinochet's coup in Chile in 1973. Since 1981 he was an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1992, Matta received the Prince of Asturias Prize in the field of art.
Roberto Antonio Sebastián Matta Echaurren died in 2002, a few days after the completion of his 91st year in Civitavecchia near Rome. Matta is the father of artists Gordon Matta-Clark and Ramuntcho Matta. He is best known for developing what he called technique des morphologies psychologiques (Technique of Psychological Morphologies).
Unique bronze
Signed & titled "ready-maid ready-male"
Unnumbered artist's work
Size 55,5 x 16,5 x 12 cm
Provenance | Artist's Atelier, Gallery Italy, Private Collection Germany
Differential taxation according to § 25a UStG. No taxes included. | Differenzbesteuerung nach § 25a UStG. Kunstgegenstände und Sammlungsstücke, Sonderregelung.
