“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.
Roberto Matta Mezzanotte floor lamp, aluminium Paradisoterrestre limited edition
By Paradisoterrestre, Roberto Matta
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Designed in the early 1970s - Paradisoterrestre Edition 2026 Materials: aluminium, PVC shade, plexiglass base Born in the early 1970s from the multifaceted imagination of surrealis...
Aluminum
Roberto Matta Ore Tre Table Lamp, aluminium Paradisoterrestre limited Edition
By Paradisoterrestre, Roberto Matta
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Designed in the early 1970s - Paradisoterrestre Edition 2026 Materials: aluminium, PVC shade, plexiglass base Born in the early 1970s from the multifaceted imagination of surrealis...
Aluminum
Man Ray Rue Férou table lamp, white, black, green, blue, Paradisoterrestre
By Man Ray, Paradisoterrestre
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Designed in 1972 - Paradisoterrestre Edition Materials: brass-plated metal structure, cardboard canvas light diffuser Colours: diffuser in white, black, green, blue “A flash of joy and poetry. The simplest directional lampshade in history meets the objet trouvé. The perfect object was born.” In the studio located in Rue Férou...
Brass
Mariyo Yagi Garbo Q 160 fabric fringe Ceiling Lamp Paradisoterrestre
By Paradisoterrestre, Mariyo Yagi
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Designed in 1973 - Paradisoterrestre Edition 2017 Square-shaped ceiling element with applied white fabric fringe, easily removable, washable, heat-resistant. Heights available: 30...
Metal
Mariyo Yagi Garbo Q 300 fabric fringe Ceiling Lamp, Paradisoterrestre
By Mariyo Yagi, Paradisoterrestre
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Designed in 1973 - Paradisoterrestre Edition 2017 Square-shaped ceiling element with applied white fabric fringe, easily removable, washable, heat-resistant. Heights available: 300...
Metal
Paola Pivi Let'em Shine Art brown wall lamp Paradisoterrestre Limited Edition
By Paola Pivi, Paradisoterrestre
Located in Ozzano Dell'emilia, IT
Materials: fabric fringes, pvc bristles, metal structure, led strip, 2 light bulbs. Colours: brown; also available in red or blue. Paola Pivi creates exclusively for Paradisoterr...
Metal
FAD Fija Floor Lamp by Miguel Milá for Santa & Cole
By Miguel Milà, Santa & Cole
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Designed to work anywhere, always. Originally designed for the headquarters of Barcelona’s FAD (Fostering Arts and Design Association). The FAD was founded in 1903 by a group of arti...
Linen, Wood, Oak
Disderot J14 Floor Lamp by André Motte
By Pierre Disderot, Joseph-André Motte
Located in London, GB
Floor lamp model J14, Joseph-André Motte for Disderot. Today the floor lamp J14 is a re-edition, individually numbered with the associated certificate to guarantee authenticity. The floor lamp, is made from chromed brass, standing on a base of white marble. The double layer glass lamp...
Brass
Jasmin Floor Lamp by Bourgeois Boheme Atelier
By Bourgeois Boheme Atelier
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This elegant tripod floor lamp has a mid-century inspired design. The lamp has a brass body with hand-stitched leather accents. The light is diffused by acrylic diffusers which provi...
Brass
Floor Lamps By Gino Sarfatti Mod 1025.
By Gino Sarfatti
Located in Brussels, BE
Gino Sarfatti (1912-1985) – Model 1025 Floor lamp Brass wrapped in natural leather Creation date: circa 1946-1948 H 168 × 50 cm without lampshade H 191 × Ø 55 cm Bibliography: Marco...
Brass, Bronze
Dominici Floor Lamp, Mid-century Modern Brazilian Design by Enrico Furio, 1950s
By Dominici, Enrico Furio
Located in New York, NY
Dominici Iluminação Moderna, founded by Enrico Furio Dominici in 1934, began as a lighting store in Bologna, Italy, before he relocated to Brazil amidst wartime disruptions. Dominic...
Aluminum, Brass, Iron
Rare Adjustable Midcentury Floor Lamp by Rupert Nikoll
By Rupert Nikoll
Located in Vienna, AT
Rare floor lamp by Rupert Nikoll desiged in the 1950s in Vienna, with a brass base and wooden center pole, height adjustable brass arm fitted with one E27 socket and cone-shaped shad...
Brass, Steel
