“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 for Gavina “Malitte” Modular Seating System
By Gavina, Roberto Matta
Located in Pawtucket, RI
Included in the permanent collection of MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City: "Malitte is a seating system, an ever-changing composition of f...
Textile, Foam
$5,886 / set
H 21.66 in W 24.02 in D 36.23 in
Italian Mid-Century Modular Sofa or Seating Set in Ochre Boucle, 1970s Italy
Located in Zagreb, HR
Italian Mid-Century Modern lounge chairs or club chairs. Modules can be used as a modular sofa or modular seating set. Beautiful and unique shape. A 1970 design and production, fully...
Bouclé, Upholstery, Foam, Wood
Mid Century Preview Sectional Sofa with Chaise
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Mid Century Preview Sectional Sofa with Chaise This sectional sofa measures: 113 wide x 67 deep x 30 inches high, with a seat height of 17 ...
Upholstery, Wood
Harvey Probber “Cubo” Nuclear Seating Modular Sofa
By Harvey Probber
Located in Bensalem, PA
Original Harvey Probber tagged sofa.Circa 1970s from the Cubo line 10 pieces included, comes with original black plinth bases as seen please look at pictures and video for overall de...
Upholstery
1 Steelcase Modular Seating Group Lounge
By Steelcase
Located in Pasadena, TX
Turnstone for Steelcase Jenny Collection Designed with posture and a better sitting experience in mind, Jenny Modular seating provides ultimate comfort...
Wood
$3,400 / item
H 23.63 in W 63 in D 35.44 in
Outdoor Oil-Treated Oak Wood Chaise Longue with Double Mattresses
By Shewekar Elgharably
Located in Cairo, EG
Outdoor oil-treated oak wood chaise longue with double mattresses. Have you checked out our comfortable and durable For the Love of Nature outdoor cha...
Upholstery, Oak
$15,985 / item
H 11.47 in W 37.8 in D 13.95 in
Customizable Tacchini Victoria Modular System by David Nicolas
By Tacchini
Located in New York, NY
Price listed for COM Lebanese design duo David/Nicolas are behind this modular system comprising armchairs, corner sofas, chaises longues and ottomans...
Textile
$4,650Sale Price|25% Off
H 24 in Dm 34 in
1970s MAgriTTA Chair Roberto Matta for Simon Gavina Editions, Italy, 1970
By Simon Gavina Editions, Roberto Matta
Located in Camden, ME
"Roberto Matta designed this chair as a tribute to his friend and fellow surrealist painter René Magritte. The apple and black bowler hat are derived from Magritte's 1946 self-portra...
Foam, Polyester
Chadwick Modular Seating by Herman Miller, 1975, Cornflower Blue
By Herman Miller, Don Chadwick
Located in Reading, Berkshire
An Original Don Chadwick for Herman Miller Chadwick Modular Seating Comprising of Four Separate Modular Seating Chairs In Original Cornflower ...
Wool, Foam
$10,007
H 27.96 in W 120.48 in D 29.93 in
George Nelson, Modular Sofa and Table Seating System, 1966 for Herman Miller
By Herman Miller, George Nelson
Located in Munster, NRW
George Nelson for Herman Miller, 1960s, United States. Very fine Modular §seater sofa by George Nelson (1908-1986) for Herman Miller. This sofa has a metal frame with square chro...
Steel, Chrome
$4,500
H 38.2 in W 25.2 in D 36.6 in
1960s GE-375 Modular Seating System by Hans J. Wegner for Getama in oak
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Victoria, BC
Designed by Hans J. Wegner in 1969 and produced by Getama in Denmark, the GE-375 is one of the designer's most innovative seating systems. Created as a truly modular collection, it a...
Oak, Fabric
$13,618 / item
H 25.6 in W 126.78 in D 37.8 in
Zanotta Pianoalto Modular Sofa in Vale Fabric by Ludovica & Roberto Palomba
By Ludovica + Roberto Palomba 1, Zanotta
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Zanotta Pianoalto Modular Sofa in Vale Fabric by Ludovica & Roberto Palomba The range of modular or monobloc sofas allows many corner or straight ...
Fabric
$24,650 / item
H 28.75 in W 158.27 in D 63.78 in
Contemporary Modular System, Black Steel / Water Repellent Velvet
Located in New York, NY
Tailor made sectional sofa offered in a selection of luxurious soft velvets with high resistance to abrasion, stains and is water repellent. Hardwood frame with advanced comfort spri...
Steel
“Malitte” Seating System by Roberto Sebastián Matta, Italy 1966
By Gavina, Roberto Matta
Located in Chicago, IL
An organic, modular 5-piece collection of polyurethane foam shapes that function as a seating arrangement and also assemble into a sculptural block. Designed by Roberto Matta (Chilea...
Foam, Fabric
Sold
H 43 in W 63 in D 25 in
Iconic Knoll International Malitte Lounge Sectional Set by Roberto Matta, 1966
By Knoll, Gavina, Roberto Matta
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Iconic Knoll International Malitte seating sectional set by Roberto Matta, 1960. Roberto Sebastian Matta, who initially trained as an architect in his native Santiago, is best known as an abstract Expressionist and surrealist painter. After completing his studies and moving to Paris, he worked briefly in the studio of famed architect Le Corbusier. His interests soon moved towards painting and he joined the circles of Salvador Dali, André Breton, and René Magritte. Matta later met Dino Gavina, who invited the painter to design a piece of furniture for Gavina SpA. The resulting Malitte Lounge...
Wool
Sold
H 24 in W 64 in D 66 in
Mid-Century Modern Modular Foam Sofa Sectional Set Roberto Matta Malitte Knoll
By Knoll, Roberto Matta
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
For your consideration is a unique, modular, foam sofa set, "Malitte" cushion system by Roberto Matta for Knoll in the 1960s. Pieces combine to become a com...