Gordon Matta

(New York, 1943-New York, 1978)

A conceptual artist, he develops his production in action art, the objectification of the space shared by sculpture and architecture, and above all by redefining the idea of landscape as an interactive place where the social, the historical, the ideological and the natural coexist. Matta Clark demonstrates that in the urban landscape it is possible to fuse matter, form, perception and idea. In Cuttings he pierced architectural masses in an implausible way; it is not clear whether he destroyed or built, drilled holes in the material or sculpted the light. With his body, with cuts by hand, saw or chisel, he broke buildings with interdimensional stripes that created new spaces and different routes, he discovered the foundational materials. He studied poetry at the Sorbonne, coming into contact with the philosophical and artistic currents of the time. In New York he trained in architecture, and settled in the run-down area of SoHo. He created the collective Anarquitecture, and opened a restaurant for artists, where events and performances were held, which he called Food. Matta-Clark and the anarchitects explored vain places, one of Matta-Clark's most interesting works is titled Fake Estates. The artist bought 15 small and useless plots of land in the New York borough of Queens: plots between buildings, vacant lands, interstitial spaces of the city, forgotten and unused places. Through the film camera he transmitted his experiences, stressing the visual elements of his performances and actions so that they survived.

The documentary FOOD (1972) was screened as part of Banquete. The film shows the daily life of the restaurant formed by the community of artists in Soho in the 70s. A place of meeting, communication and artistic action, self-managed as a utopia for a society on the margins.