Roberto Matta Furniture
“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.
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Foam, Polyester
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Aluminum, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Fabric, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Fabric, Foam
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Resin
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
1960s Chilean Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Paper
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Textile, Foam
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Paper
Mid-20th Century Chilean Roberto Matta Furniture
Fabric
1980s Italian Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Fabric, Foam
1980s Italian Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Resin
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Fabric, Foam
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Paper
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Paper
1980s Italian Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Paper
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
1990s Italian Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Faux Leather, Wood
1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Brass, Steel
2010s Latvian Roberto Matta Furniture
Fabric, Plywood
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Brass
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Brass
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Roberto Matta Furniture
Upholstery
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Metal, Chrome
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic, Earthenware, Clay
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Ceramic, Clay, Earthenware
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century Roberto Matta Furniture
Paper
1960s Italian Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Upholstery
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Foam, Fabric
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Wool
1970s Italian Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Wood
20th Century Chilean Modern Roberto Matta Furniture
Paper
1970s Italian Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Fabric, Fiberglass, Polystyrene
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
1970s Italian Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
1970s Italian Space Age Vintage Roberto Matta Furniture
Roberto Matta furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Creators Similar to Roberto Matta
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Roberto Matta is a painter who became a noted part of the Surrealist movement. Born Roberto Antonio Sebastian Matta Echaurren in 1922 in Santiago, Chile, the artist began his professional life as an architect and slowly switched to painting. His work often featured complex biomorphic forms in disturbing settings, making him an important influence in the post World War II era. Shop a selection of Roberto Matta pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Chilean-born Roberto Matta is a modern art painter primarily known for his work in blending surrealism with abstract expressionism. You can shop a selection of expertly vetted Fairfield Porter pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.