GORDON MATTA-CLARK (1943-1978)

From the late 1960s until his untimely death in 1978, American artist Gordon Matta-Clark was a key member of the New York avant-garde. The son of celebrated surrealist painter Robert Matta, he created his performances, films, large scale installations and photo collages outside the confines of a studio. Gaining inspiration from Land Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art, Matta-Clark rejected the commodification of art and strove to reinvent the artistic boundries by transforming unexpected materials and urban locations into imaginative aesthetic experiences. After receiving his B.A. in architecture from Cornell University in 1968, Matta-Clark created his signature "anarchitecture" works. In these temporary installations Matta-Clark tested the limits of architecture by dramatically carving out large sections of buildings slated for demolition. In Splitting (1974), his first large-scale project, Matta-Clark sawed two parallel slices through a typical American wood-framed home in Englewood, New Jersey. By removing the material between the two halves, each portion appears to defy gravity as it is magically suspended in space. In his photo collage Matta-Clark overlaps and angles multiple interior photographs to recreate the danger, whimsy and disorienting sensation of his monumental architectural interventions.