SB: When Matta began to travel to Mexico with artist Robert Motherwell starting in 1941, did he find any similarities with his native Chile? Had he traveled to any other Latin American countries?

CD: In my research for the exhibition, I doní­t remember any direct comparison made by Matta between Chile and Mexico. Matta traveled extensively for personal reasons as well as for exhibitions to places such as Havana, Cuba; Lima, Peru; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bogotá, Colombia; and Caracas, Venezuela.

SB: What was the reason that brought Matta back to Paris in 1948 after the war, and why didní­t he remain in the United States, or even return to Chile?

CD: According to the Pompidou catalogue for the Matta exhibition of 1985, Matta left New York because "Tout devenait trop peinture pour moi." (Everything was becoming too painting for me). During the mid- and late 1940s, Mattaí­s growing emphasis on the social and political, insistence on the use of the figure, and ideas about the artist's role in society ultimately differentiated his work from that of his American contemporaries. For these reasons Matta left it was time to leave New York and return to Europe. On his way back to Rome, he visited Chile for a few weeks where he wrote for the Santiago Journal "Pro Arte".

SB: Much has been written about Mattaí­s influence of the natural landscape, from the East coast of America to the volcanoes of Mexico. As he chose to return to Paris in 1948, and continues to live in Europe today, is there something of the French, or European landscape that influences him as well?

CD: Matta currently spends most of his time in Tarquinia, Italy. I am not aware of any specific European landscape influences in Mattaí­s work since 1949, however, apparently the occurrence of an earthquake which took place in Chile prior to 1957 had an effect on a few of his drawings.

SB: Has living and traveling to these different parts of the world widened his base of collectors? And if so, has he continued to travel and exhibit internationally while based in Paris?

CD: Matta is widely collected throughout Europe, Latin America, and North America in part due to his extensive travels and numerous exhibitions. He continues to travel as often as his health permits and his work continues to be the subject of major exhibitions. The paintings and drawings of his entire career have most recently been the subject of important exhibitions at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1985), and the Reina Sofia, Madrid (1999).

SB: What ties did Matta keep to his native Chile while living and traveling abroad?

CD: Apparently Matta didní­t spend much time in Chile. When he visited for a few weeks on his way back to Europe from the United States, it had been twenty years since he had been there. He visited in 1961 for three months to realize a mural for the University of Santiago. He also visited in 1970-72 at the invitation of President Allende.

Colette Dartnall is an independent curator and art historian. She has curated and co-organized numerous exhibitions at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, including Geometric Forms and Abstract Images; Images of An Era: Selections from the Permanent Collection; Barnett Newmaní­s Eighteen Cantos; Timepieces: Selected Highlights from the Permanent Collection 1945—1975; Catherine Opie; A Room of Their Own: From Rothko to Rauschenberg; A Room of Their Own: From Arbus to Gober; and Matta in America: Paintings and Drawings of the 1940s. Dartnall is currently at work on projects and exhibitions including Post-Landscape: Between Nature and Culture and In-between Spaces. She has written and lectured widely on a variety of topics in modern and contemporary art.