“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, 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
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
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
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
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
$226
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
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
$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
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
$850 / item
H 27 in W 27 in D 0.5 in
Mid Century Color Lithographs by Richard Lindner and Ed Paschke 1970s
By Ed Paschke, Richard Lindner
Located in Atlanta, GA
Mid century color lithographs by Richard Lindner and Ed Paschke. They have been professionally framed in clean lined black lacquer wood gallery frames under UV resistant glass. They ...
Glass, Wood, Paper
$805Sale Price|20% Off
H 24.02 in W 27.17 in D 0.79 in
Original Vintage Abstract Color Lithograph, Komposition by Anders Fogelin
Located in Warszawa, Mazowieckie
Anders Fogelin, Komposition, 1974 Color lithograph Number 97/200 Work with the artist's signature, title and individual number (in pencil) Working dimensions 61/69 The work is framed...
Paper
Etching with acquatint by Paul de Chabot (1932-)
Located in London, GB
Etching with aquatint in a silk surround with dark blue wooden frame and glass to the front. It is edition 86/99. Paul de Chabot is a Postwar and Contem...
Paper
Color Lithograph "Fruit" by Nils Artur Nilsson
Located in Vienna, AT
Nils Artur Nilsson. Color lithograph, Skogsgläntan (The forest glade), signed Nils Artur, numbered 125/360. Framed, external dimensions 71 x 61 cm.
Paper
Artist's Proof "Deco Jean" By Samuel M Parker
By Samuel M. Parker
Located in Chicago, IL
An artist's proof of a lithographic print by Samuel M. Parker, this female portrait is entitled "Deco Jean." The artist uses the comic book effect of latter-day pointillism to create...
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