Gordon Matta-Clark

Biography

EAI is pleased to announce that a selection of the films and videotapes of Gordon Matta-Clark is available on video. This extraordinary and rarely-seen body of material, which dates from 1971 to 1977 — Matta-Clark's most prolific and vital period — is a significant contribution to our understanding of the work of this singular artist.

Organized into eight programs, these sixteen film and video works include documents of many of Matta-Clark's major pieces, in sites including New York, Paris and Antwerp. Extending his investigations of architecture, deconstruction, space, and urban environments, these films and videotapes are focused on three areas: Matta-Clark's performances and recycling pieces; his space and texture works; and his building cuts. More than simple documentations of his often remarkable interventions, Matta-Clark's commentary on his works also provides a unique insight into his creative process.

Gordon Matta-Clark was born in New York in 1943 and died in 1978. He studied French literature at the Sorbonne and Architecture at Cornell University. From the early 1970s, as a founding member of the artist-run Food Restaurant in New York's SoHo neighborhood, Matta-Clark participated in numerous group exhibitions and projects. His work was presented in Documenta V, Kassel, Germany; and at exhibitions in Sao Paolo, Berlin, Zurich, and in the 9th Biennale de Paris. Major projects by Matta-Clark were staged in Aachen, Paris and Antwerp.

Following his death, major retrospective exhibitions have been organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe, Germany; and IVAM Centro Julio Gonzalez, Valencia, Spain, among others. In 2007, the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, honored him with a retrospective entitled "Gordon Matta-Clark: You Are the Measure." In 2017 the Bronx Museum of the Arts presented "Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect," a major survey featuring more than one hundred works by the artist.