Cecilia de Torres, Ltd.

Francisco Matto - Works 1944-1992 1993 Autumn



Francisco Matto - Works 1944-1992

This 1993 exhibition, encompassing nearly fifty years of Matto's paintings, wood reliefs and sculpture, was the inaugural show of the Cecilia de Torres Gallery.

The invitation noted:
Francisco Matto's work is a subtle fusion of Indoamerican art and geometric abstraction. "Magic", he asserts, "is the most worthwhile element in this world."

His wood constructions, like Circular Structure (1968), retain references to the natural world and to spiritual and even magical powers within a structured geometric format. He deliberately chooses to leave the texture of the rough wood bare or lightly painted. He treats symbols as a means to achieve a ritual function beyond mere aesthetics.



Francisco Matto

Born 1911 and died 1995 in Montevideo, Uruguay

Privately tutored and a child painter, Matto at age 21, traveled to Tierra del Fuego and acquired the first Pre-Columbian pieces of what was to become a major collection and an important influence on his art. Matto met Torres-García in 1939, joining his atelier and exhibiting with the artists of the Taller Torres-García until the 1960s. An elegant, aristocratic man, Matto worked with humble materials, preferring cardboard to canvas and found pieces of wood for his sculptures. His work has been exhibited at the Sálon des Surindépendants, Paris; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; in Spain, Italy, Germany, Moscow, Tokyo, New York and throughout Latin America. Matto's monumental concrete sculptures are landmarks in Punta del Este, Uruguay.


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