Matta in America: Paintings and Drawings of the 1940s

This catalogue focuses on work produced by the Chilean-born artist Roberto Sebastian Matta from 1939-1948 when he lived in exile in New York. Matta, who has spent most of his life living and working in Europe, occupies a unique and pivotal place in the history of American art of this period. Of all the surrealists in exile in New York during these years, Matta formed the closest links with American artists of his own generation and served as a catalytic force in communicating ideas about surrealist processes and relating to the development of a new language of abstract painting. Matta in America includes full-color illustrations of approximately twenty paintings and twenty drawings made during the artist's American sojourn. An essay tracing the development in the 1940s of Matta's work and highlighting his interactions with other artists of the period is complemented by an essay by art historian William Rubin. Originally written for the Centre Georges Pompidous's 1985 Matta monograph, Rubin's essential text, "Matta in the United States: A Personal Note," has never before been published in English.