La Source de Calm 2002

Roberto Matta made "La Source de Calm" using pastel to conjure up an atmosphere with a dream-like quality. He's not afraid to let the process show, with visible strokes and smudges. The texture here is soft and chalky, built up in layers. The blue background feels like a hazy dreamscape, against which the bright colors pop. Notice the yellow arrow, pointing insistently, but towards what? It’s like a diagram of a feeling, the color and shape creating a sense of forward momentum. Matta doesn't conceal his process. You can almost feel the pressure of the pastel stick against the paper, the artist's hand moving across the surface, building up these strange, evocative forms. Matta's work often feels like automatic drawing or writing, with surrealist influences akin to Joan Miró, where the line becomes a kind of map of the unconscious. Ultimately, Matta invites us to embrace ambiguity, to find our own meanings within his vibrant, enigmatic world.