“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.
Hom'mère - N'où's folder with 20 etchings by Roberto Matta
By Roberto Matta
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Hom’mère – N’où’s by Roberto Matta is a folder with 10 etchings on Arches paper + 10 etchings on Japòn paper Edition: 100 signed and numbered copies from 1 to 100 + XXV H.C. Sista...
Paper
Roberto Matta "Look At The Heart Of The World" Circa 1965 Etching 2/50
By Roberto Matta
Located in Atlanta, GA
Roberto Matta (Chilean, 1911–2002) Look At The Heart Of The World (Vois Au Coeur Du Monde), circa 1965 Etching with aquatint, with hand-applied color accents, the composition present...
Paper
Roberto Matta, Aquatint, 1970s "Come detta dentro vo significado" No35
By Roberto Matta
Located in Stockholm, SE
Robero Matta ( Chille 1911-2002), aquatint VI/VI no 35 from "Come detta dentro vo significado". Signed Matta. Framed. in good condition. Paper with smaller signs of age and wear.
Paper
El Verbo America folder with 6 color lithographs by Roberto Matta
By Roberto Matta
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
El Verbo America by Roberto Matta is a folder with 6 color lithographs on Arches paper Edition: 100 copies from 1 to 100 + XXV H.C. La Bezuga, Florence; 1987 “Seeing the Word that...
Paper
Don Qui folder with 15 color + 10 black and white lithographs by Roberto Matta
By Roberto Matta
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Don Qui by Roberto Matta is a folder with 15 color + 10 black and white lithographs Edition: 100 copies Sistan, Lugano; 1985 In the text that accompanies the Don Qui lithographs...
Paper
Musik-Foot artist’s book with 8 lithographs by Roberto Matta
By Roberto Matta
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Musik-Foot by Roberto Matta is an artist’s book with 8 lithographs. Edition: 100 + XXV La Bezuga, Florence; 1990 Artist’s book with hard cover and collage. Printed entirely on han...
Paper
Qui d'Eux folder with 10 color lithographs and a text by Roberto Matta
By Roberto Matta
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Qui d’Eux by Roberto Matta is a folder with 10 color lithographs on Vélin d’Arches 270 gr paper and a text by Matta Edition: 100 signed and numbered copies from 1 to 100 + XV copies...
Paper
Le Verbo Hommérica folder with 6 signed and numbered etchings by Roberto Matta
By Roberto Matta
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Le Verbo Hommérica by Roberto Matta is a folder with 6 signed and numbered etchings on Japon nacré paper Edition: 100 copies numbered from 1 to 100 + 35 HC numbered I-XXV L’Inédite...
Paper
$316Sale Price|20% Off
H 24 in W 19 in D 0.07 in
1970s Original Charles Camoin Seascape Art Exhibiton Poster
By Charles Camoin
Located in Miami, FL
Original vintage poster from an exhibit of French painter, Charles Camoin, vivid orange color with beige highlights. Charles Camoin (French: 23 September 1879-20 May 1965) was a French Expressionist landscape painter associated with the Fauves. He painted a portrait of Matisse, which is in the permanent collection of the Pompidou Museum in Paris. Born in Marseille, France, Camoin met Henri...
Paper
Old Master Etching and Aquatint
By Francisco De Goya
Located in Tarrytown, NY
Plate #50 from Francisco de Goya's "Los Caprichos" series titled "Los Chinchillas." Printed on wove paper. Double matted and contained under glass in an ebonized and parcel gilt wood...
Giltwood, Paper
$222
H 8.08 in W 11.3 in D 0.01 in
Three Dogs – Antique Etching by Samuel Howitt from Miscellaneous Etchings, 1812
Located in Langweer, NL
Three Dogs – Antique Etching by Samuel Howitt from 'Miscellaneous Etchings', 1812 This charming early 19th-century etching by Samuel Howitt (1756–1822) depicts three dogs in a momen...
Paper
$750Sale Price|37% Off
H 29.5 in W 23.75 in D 1 in
Vibrant Abstract Color Lithograph #1 by Angelo Savelli
Located in Atlanta, GA
Vibrant Abstract Color Lithograph #1 by Angelo Savelli, Italian, 1991-1995. Color lithograph executed on thick paper. Pencil signed and numbered by the artist. Framed in a simple, cl...
Paper
$750Sale Price|37% Off
H 23.75 in W 29.5 in D 1 in
Vibrant Abstract Color Lithograph #2 by Angelo Savelli
Located in Atlanta, GA
Vibrant Abstract Color Lithograph #2 by Angelo Savelli, Italian, 1991-1995. Color lithograph executed on thick paper. Pencil signed and numbered by the artist. Framed in a simple, cl...
Paper
1970s "Fanfare" Screenprint by Frank Rowland
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A striking limited edition op art serigraph by American artist Frank Rowland (1927-2012) in the hard edge style. An abstract geometric composition in red, orange, and yellow against ...
Paper
1980s Original Gorgeous Rare Patrick Nagel "Swimmers" Lithograph.
By Patrick Nagel
Located in Milano, IT
1970s Original rare gorgeous Patrick Nagel "Swimmers" Lithograph. Signature printed. Copyright 1979 Mirage Editions Inc. Santa Monica. Printed in the U.S.A This lithograph is in exce...
Paper
Josef Albers "Formulation : Articulation" Portfolio II, Folder 14
By Josef Albers
Located in Chicago, IL
JOSEF ALBERS (1888 – 1976) "Formulation : Articulation" Portfolio II, Folder 14 Screen-printed geometric composition printed by Ives Stillman, Inc., New Haven, CT. From the set of...
Paper
Framed "Hearts" lithograph print by artist Jim Dine
By Jim Dine
Located in Dallas, TX
A mesmerizing abstract by artist Jim Dine from 1970 that incorporates elements of pop art and abstract expressionism. Offset lithograph on metallic paper. “Hearts'' shows off a patt...
Paint, Paper
Original Antique Map of The World by Dower, circa 1835
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
Nice map of the World Drawn and engraved by J.Dower Published by Orr & Smith. C.1835 Unframed. Free shipping
Paper
Josef Albers "Formulation : Articulation" Portfolio II, Folder 29
By Josef Albers
Located in Chicago, IL
JOSEF ALBERS (1888 – 1976) "Formulation : Articulation" Portfolio II, Folder 29 Screen-printed geometric composition printed by Ives Stillman, Inc., New Haven, CT. From the set of 12...
Paper
$1,850 / set
H 18.5 in W 23.5 in D 0.5 in
Black and White Lithographs by Josef Albers from Formulation and Articulation
By Josef Albers
Located in Atlanta, GA
Josef Albers abstract lithographs from formulation and articulation, published by Harry N. Abrams Inc., New York, and Ives Sillman Inc., New Haven, circa 1972. These works are from p...
Glass, Wood, Paper
Sold
H 22.5 in W 29.75 in D 0.07 in
Vintage Roberto Matta Abstract Signed Surrealist Lithograph Print Artist Proof
By Roberto Matta
Located in Dayton, OH
Vintage pencil signed lithograph print by Roberto Matta, showing surrealist style figures in car-like vehicles below Greek / Roman style soldie...
Paper