Bidspirit auction | Pair of wooden chairs in

Pair of wooden chairs in the style of Roberto Matta (Santiago de Chile, 1911 - Civitavecchia, 2002) - Each chair measures 18 x 5 x 5 cm. Provenance: former collection of Elías Regalado, inherited through the family line. He was a Chilean architect, painter, and poet, considered the last representative of Surrealism. In 1985, he received the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts; in 1990, the National Art Prize; in 1992, the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts; and in 1995, the Praemium Imperiale in the Painting category. From the 1960s onward, he lived primarily in the Italian town of Tarquinia, north of Rome, making occasional trips back to his country. During the 1960s, he ventured into furniture design after meeting the Italian designer Dino Gavina, creating the ”Malitte Lounge Furniture” chairs in 1966 for Gavina SpA, which was later acquired by the well-known firm Knoll. The Malitte chairs are now part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. In 2001, he was granted Spanish citizenship ”in recognition of his contribution to Ibero-American culture and art, and as a testament to the special affection for Spain he demonstrated throughout his long career.” He died in Civitavecchia on November 23, 2002. Following his death, the President of Chile, Ricardo Lagos Escobar, decreed three days of national mourning.