Blue Composition 1937

Curator: Immediately, I’m struck by how much this canvas resembles deep space. Editor: Well, let me introduce you to "Blue Composition," an acrylic painting created in 1937 by Roberto Matta, an important figure associated with Abstract Expressionism and, more broadly, Modernism. What initially strikes you about the overall mood and Matta’s choices here? Curator: The dreamy, almost surreal, aesthetic evokes a feeling of floating in the cosmos. The shades of blue are dominant and very calming, contrasted with these dense black masses that make the work tense. What historical context shapes our understanding of this piece? Editor: Matta's work emerged from Surrealism. He embraced automatism and the unconscious, creating what he termed "psychological morphologies," attempting to depict the inner landscapes of the human psyche, often in response to the socio-political turmoil of his time. The Spanish Civil War loomed large and profoundly influenced his exploration of chaos and transformation. Curator: And one might read that “turmoil” reflected right here, formally, in the artwork, no? Those piercing, dark shapes that feel disruptive, almost violent, compared to the soft gradients elsewhere in the picture. This is pre-WWII—so, is Matta speaking to a looming crisis? Editor: Precisely! This wasn't simply about personal angst but about capturing the pervasive sense of dread and impending global conflict. Also, abstraction allowed him to circumvent censorship and represent the unrepresentable – the horrors of war. The painting acts as a visceral metaphor, offering viewers a way to engage with those horrors through a landscape of internal struggle projected onto the canvas. It raises an important issue about how artists can portray societal issues. Curator: These are all valuable points to ponder! Thanks, and with that, we hope you contemplate Matta’s commentary too. Editor: Consider how his forms may represent what cannot be depicted in obvious ways, either then or now.