Gordon Matta-Clark
American, 1943–1978
Notable Works
Gordon Matta-Clark’s anti-establishment suspicion of the worlds of art and architecture, illustrated by his involvement in the Anarchitecture Group, led to some of the most innovative works of Conceptual art of the 20th century. His famed “building cuts” involved carefully cleaving through part or all of an abandoned structure, removing sections of floors, ceilings, and walls. For Splitting (1974), Matta-Clark carved through the various floors of a typical suburban house in New Jersey, splitting it in two. The act evoked both his own and the universal disintegration of the family. Accompanying photographs depict the resulting work as a bizarre, vertiginous visual experience.
Notable Works
Gordon Matta-Clark’s anti-establishment suspicion of the worlds of art and architecture, illustrated by his involvement in the Anarchitecture Group, led to some of the most innovative works of Conceptual art of the 20th century. His famed “building cuts” involved carefully cleaving through part or all of an abandoned structure, removing sections of floors, ceilings, and walls. For Splitting (1974), Matta-Clark carved through the various floors of a typical suburban house in New Jersey, splitting it in two. The act evoked both his own and the universal disintegration of the family. Accompanying photographs depict the resulting work as a bizarre, vertiginous visual experience.
