Untitled from VVV Portfolio
Roberto Matta
Chilean, 1911–2002
1942, published 1943
A watercolor-and-pencil sheet by Roberto Matta that assembles floating biomorphic stains and brisk graphite scribbles to externalize a surreal, psychological topography.
Bright, molten pools of turquoise, magenta, yellow and inky black appear to hover on the pale paper, their edges bleeding into soft smudges while nervous pencil lines stitch them into a restless, airborne landscape.
Created for the VVV portfolio in Matta’s Surrealist phase, this work helped translate dreamlike inner states into abstract spatial forms that would inform later Abstract Expressionism and the modern language of psychological landscape.
Medium
Watercolor and pencil from a portfolio of five etchings (one with aquatint), three duplicated drawings (two watercolor on paper and one crayon on paper), one collage, one engraving, and one gelatin silver print
Dimensions
composition: 12 7/16 x 11 1/8" (31.6 x 28.3 cm); sheet: 16 3/4 x 13 11/16" (42.5 x 34.8 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The Louis E. Stern Collection
Accession
1113.1964.8
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
