The Rose Art Museum Presents "Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect"

Exhibition on view from September 21, 2019 through January 5, 2020

(Waltham, MA. August, 2019) – Best known for his monumental cuts, holes, apertures, and excisions to the facades of derelict homes and historic buildings in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and abroad, Gordon Matta-Clark’s work conveys a potent critique of architecture's role in relation to the capitalist system. Taking his 1970s series of Bronx “cuts” as a point of departure and entry into his engaged exploration of the city as a field of action, Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect is the artist’s first survey to focus on his pioneering social, relational, and activist approach.

The exhibition highlights the political dialogue inherent in Matta-Clark’s artistic interventions, from his concern for the extreme plight of the homeless, his interest in direct community engagement, his belief that we should expand our lived experience of a city into its underground and inaccessible spaces, and his commentary on development and socioeconomic stratification. 

“This exhibition comes at the perfect moment, a time when the discussion of public and private space and of housing rights are more pertinent than ever. Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect demonstrates the still relevant and socially transformative vision of Matta-Clark, as well as his faith in experimental art-making,” says Ruth Estévez, the Rose’s Senior Curator-at-Large. 

In addition to Matta-Clark’s photographs, prints, and drawings, Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect includes immersive film projections of his urban architectural interventions and rarely seen materials from the artist’s archive.

“I am thrilled that the Rose can host the first comprehensive exhibition of Gordon Matta-Clark in Boston. Our commitment to art that is transformational and to social justice is manifest in this powerful retrospective,” says Rose Director and Chief Curator Luis A. Croquer.

Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect is organized by The Bronx Museum of the Arts. The exhibition is co-curated by Antonio Sergio Bessa, Bronx Museum Director of Curatorial Programs; and Jessamyn Fiore, independent curator and co-director of the Matta-Clark Estate. The Rose Art Museum presentation is organized by Ruth Estévez, Senior Curator-at-Large, with Caitlin Julia Rubin, Assistant Curator.

Gordon Matta-Clark: Anarchitect and the exhibition's catalogue are made possible by the Henry Luce Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Blue Rider Group at Morgan Stanley, David Zwirner, Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark, and Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund.

ABOUT THE ROSE ART MUSEUM AT BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

The Rose Art Museum has been dedicated to exhibiting and collecting modern and contemporary art at Brandeis University since 1961. With its highly respected international collection of more than 9,000 objects, scholarly exhibitions, and multidisciplinary academic and public programs, the Rose affirms and advances the values of freedom of expression, global diversity, and social justice that are the hallmarks of Brandeis University. The museum recently announced that they will now be open year round. They recently added works by Betye Saar, Joe Overstreet, Haris Epaminonda, Martine Gutierrez, Pieter Vermeersch to their collection. The museum is always free and open to the public, and is located 20 minutes from downtown Boston.

For more information, visit www.brandeis.edu/rose/or call 781-736-3434. Follow the Rose Art Museum on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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