Roberto Matta

Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (1911-2002) was an international figure whose worldview represented a synthesis of European, American, and Latin American cultures. As a member of the Surrealist movement and an early mentor to several Abstract Expressionists, Matta broke with both groups to pursue a highly personal artistic vision. His mature work blended abstraction, figuration, and multi-dimensional spaces into complex, cosmic landscapes. This monograph traces the life and the work of the artist from the beginning to his most celebrated works; it also includes the interview that, just before his death last year at the age of 91, Roberto Matta gave Tate´s contributing editor Hans Ulrich Obrist. Here the former Surrealist discusses ideas ranging from chance, dreams, resistance and a new geometry to Le Corbusier, scroungers and a return to Marx. The book features this last interview.