“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
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
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
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
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
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
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
$520
H 7.88 in W 11.82 in D 0.04 in
Signed, Numbered and Dated Limited Edition Colored Lithograph by Corneille
By Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo (Corneille)
Located in Little Burstead, Essex
This example is untitled, but depicts a cat and bird with head of a woman, and is numbered 54/99 and signed and dated 1999 and is in perfect condition. The artist is Guillaume Bever...
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
Vibrant Color Lithograph after Henri Matisse
By Henri Matisse
Located in Atlanta, GA
Vibrant color lithograph after Henri Matisse, circa 1950s. Signed, dated 1951, and titled, all within the lithograph. It has been framed in a simple, clean lined black lacquer wooden...
Glass, Wood, Paper
Daniel Graves "English Village" Framed Etching 20/100, 1976
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
The original etching on paper depicts old stone bridge leading to the traditional old English cottages, surrounded by hills with fields and trees in the timeless English countryside ...
Paper
Custom Framed Lithograph by Marcel Vertes, Signed and Numbered
By Marcel Vertès
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This is a beautiful custom-framed lithograph by Hungarian-born French artist, Marcel Vertes, entitled "Circus Queens". The piece is signed, Vertes, in the lower right corner and numbered, "30/50" in the lower left corner. The image itself measures 23" high x 16" wide. The frame is a 2" thick 2 toned framed, black and a subtle cerused-like grey. It was originally sold through the Vincent Price...
Wood
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
$280Sale Price|20% Off
H 17.5 in W 19 in D 1.25 in
Color Etching By T. F. Simon “From The Latin Quarter” Signed & Numbered c1930
Located in Big Flats, NY
Color Etching By T. F. Simon “From The Latin Quarter” Signed & Numbered c1930 Measures - 17 3/8" x 18 7/8" x 1 1/4" This is an antique color etching by T. F. Simon, titled 'From The...
Paper
$3,200Sale Price|20% Off
H 15 in W 40 in D 1 in
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
Josef Albers "Formulation : Articulation" Portfolio II, Folder 17
By Josef Albers
Located in Chicago, IL
JOSEF ALBERS (1888 – 1976) "Formulation : Articulation" Portfolio II, Folder 17 Screen-printed geometric composition printed by Ives Stillman, Inc., New Haven, CT. From the set of...
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