Ca' Pesaro Hosts Major Roberto Matta Retrospective Spanning Seven Decades

A comprehensive retrospective of Roberto Matta (1911–2002) opens at Ca' Pesaro in Venice, the first major survey since the 1985 Centre Pompidou exhibition. The show presents over seventy years of work across drawings, sculptures, design objects, and paintings, including the monumental canvas Coïgitum (1972) and the city-owned Alba sulla terra (1952). Matta's connection to Venice is highlighted: he first arrived for the 1948 Biennale after breaking with the Surrealists, stayed with Peggy Guggenheim, and had a solo show at the Museo Correr in 1953. The exhibition is not strictly chronological but offers thematic sections on civil engagement—featuring works like La Question (1958) against the Algerian War and La Chasse aux adolescents (1968) denouncing police violence—and on design, including projects from his time at Le Corbusier's studio and the Murano glass piece Museros (1969) made with Fucina degli Angeli. Later works include the triptych Todo empieda con un beso (1980) and the satirical Les photographes (2000). The show closes with 1990s pieces such as Vertige du doute (1991).