Matta in America: Paintings and Drawings of the 1940s highlights work produced by the Chilean-born surrealist painter Roberto Sebastian Matta between 1938 and 1948, when he lived in exile in the US.
The earliest works in Matta in America, called Psychological Morphologies or Inscapes (1938–39), were made just prior to Matta’s move. Works made after Matta’s move in 1939 initially drew inspiration from the American landscape, as in Rocks (1941) and Here, Sir Fire, Eat! (1942); in 1943, after the birth of his sons and growing news about the atrocities of World War II, the artist’s work darkened, exemplified by Children’s Fear of Idols (1943).
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue.
Matta in America: Paintings and Drawings of the 1940s is organized by Elizabeth T. Smith and Colette Dartnall, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and co-organized by MOCA and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.