“The function of art,” the Surrealist Roberto Matta once stated, “is to unveil the enormous economic, cultural and emotional forces that materially interact in our lives and that constitute the real space in which we live.” In his paintings, Matta sought to expose those forces through the Surrealist practice of automatism, creating work in a free-associative state intended to conjure the unconscious.
After studying architecture in his native Chile, Matta, then 22, chose to pursue the field in Paris, where he mingled with stars of the avant-garde like Gertrude Stein, Salvador Dalí and Walter Gropius. In the late 1930s, he abandoned Paris, together with his job at Le Corbusier’s studio and (for a time) his career, for modern art’s new epicenter, New York City. There, he became a colleague of art legends like Marcel Duchamp and Arshile Gorky.
Although celebrated primarily for his work as a painter, Matta was an equally talented furniture designer. His furniture pieces, like his artworks, are the stuff of dreams. The back of his totem chair, for example, is composed of smiling, cartoonish creatures stacked on top of each other. In his MAgriTTA armchair, the top half of a plush green apple sticks out of large black bowler in homage to its namesake, the Belgian Surrealist René Magritte.
But perhaps the piece that most truly embodies his artistic philosophy is his 1966 Mallite modular system: a collection of spongy, undulating sofas and lounges that can be fitted together to form a puzzle-like room divider. The work, an original edition of which is in MoMA’s permanent collection, has in recent decades been a hard-to-find collectors’ item — until 2019, when Italian design brand Paradisoterrestre issued a reedition, available through Duplex.
Browse Roberto Matta's paintings and furniture designs on 1stDibs.
Roberto Matta Ore Tre Table Lamp, aluminium Paradisoterrestre limited Edition
By Paradisoterrestre, Roberto Matta
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Designed in the early 1970s - Paradisoterrestre Edition 2026 Materials: aluminium, PVC shade, plexiglass base Born in the early 1970s from the multifaceted imagination of surrealis...
Aluminum
Benny Limited Edition Bronze and Alabaster Table Lamp
By Matlight Milano
Located in Milan, IT
This stunning table lamp comes in a limited edition collection of 10 pieces. With its refined Art Deco flair, this elegant collector's item features an exquisitely handcrafted bronze and alabaster circular base, a sleek cone-shaped bronze body extending into an oval lampshade...
Alabaster, Bronze
Concerto table lamp Roberto Pamio for Leucos 1970's
By Leucos, Roberto Pamio
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Large table lamp model Concerto designed in 1977 by Roberto Pamio for Leucos. The diffuser is a large blown glass cylinder with conical recess, produced by Leucos in the best traditi...
Glass
Rare Limited Edition Peter Ghyczy 'MW' Brass Table Lamp
By Peter Ghyczy
Located in Pijnacker, Zuid-Holland
Beautiful and rare table lamp by Peter Ghyczy, Netherlands, 1980s. Model 'MW' Mega Watt in full brass. In very good condition. Patinated in a warm gold colour. It can be polished ...
Brass
French, 1970s Aluminium Table Lamp
Located in Sharon, CT
A small French aluminium lamp (labeled: made in France) in the manner of Morellet.
Aluminum
Aluminium table lamp by Nucleo Sormani, 1970s
By Sormani
Located in Rotterdam, NL
Table lamp produced by Nucleo Sormani in the 1970s. The lamp consists of two curved aluminum parts, both containing a light bulb fitting (E14). The two parts are joined together, al...
Aluminum
Table Lamp Horizonte by Studio Superego, Limited Edition of 9
By Studio Superego
Located in Asti, Piemonte
A beautiful table lamp in transparent plexiglass with inclusion agate discs and brass base designed by Studio Superego for Superego Editions. Limited edition of 9 pieces. Biography ...
Agate, Brass
The Titan - Table Lamp Limited Edition
By Arjun Rathi Design
Located in Mumbai, Maharashtra
About the Designer - Arjun Rathi, a Mumbai-based architect, is the visionary behind Arjun Rathi Design, a multi-disciplinary studio established in 2...
Brass
Maison Charles Stockholm Table Lamp 'Limited Edition Resin'
By Maison Charles
Located in London, GB
This stunning table lamp made by Maison Charles in their workshops in Saint Denis, Paris was originally designed by Jacques Charles in the 1970s and was re-released in the early 21st Century as a limited edition run made of cast Resin in stead of Bronze This super chic table lamp is in gloss black finish and is externally wired due to the Resin casting being solid, wired with black silk flex and has the original Maison Charles lampshade hand made and covered is butter soft metallic silver Kid...
Leather, Resin
1930s Aluminium Table Lamp, Czechoslovakia
Located in Praha, CZ
- Newly rewired - repolished
Aluminum
Chrome and Brushed Aluminium Table Lamp by Laurel
By Laurel Lamp Company
Located in Asbury Park, NJ
A rare table lamp by Laurel with a subtle tulip form at the chrome base, rising into a body of brushed aluminium.
Architectural Brass Desk Lamp, Limited Edition
By Gerald Abramovitz, Best & Lloyd
Located in Tarrytown, NY
Solid brass machine made desk lamp with soft LED light. Two internal swivel mechanisms making possible for light to move up/down and sideways. In the manner of industrial designer Ge...
Brass
Max Sauze Aluminium Table Lamp, circa 1970
By Max Sauze
Located in Brussels, BE
Max Sauze aluminium table lamp, circa 1970.
Chrome