Untitled

Executed in graphite and punctuated by passes of saturated gouache and blurred crayon, this composition depicts the vaguely humanoid forms that appeared in Matta’s work in the 1940s. Floating in an ambiguous space, these figures possess a totemic quality that was informed by the artist’s interest in Pre-Columbian and Oceanic art objects, which he personally collected. The title of the work, inscribed by the artist in pencil at bottom center in partially illegible French, refers to a Gynaeceum—an Ancient Greek term for the women’s quarters of a house. The drawing was created during the same year as Matta’s departure from New York and his expulsion from the Surrealist group.