Gordon Matta-Clark

Well known for his radical "anarchitectural" interventions throughout the 1970s, Gordon Matta-Clark (1943–78) was always deeply, though less publicly, committed to drawing. His works on paper?which span three-dimensional reliefs, calligraphy and notebook entries?capture the interdisciplinary spirit that defined the art world in the 1970s, testifying to his interest in the crossovers between visual and performance arts. Gordon Matta-Clark: The Beginning of Trees and the End, published on the occasion of the eponymous 2015 show at David Zwirner, New York, documents his extraordinary accomplishment as a draftsman. Organized by theme, the catalogue presents selections from Matta-Clark’s Cut Drawings, Energy Rooms, Energy Trees and his own "calligraphy," many of which have never been published. Perhaps the best known of the group, the Cut Drawings explore smaller-format versions of his architectural interventions; slicing meticulously through several layers of paper, gesso or cardboard, Matta-Clark created flat sculptural works that emphasized the voids created by extracting matter. Drawings with Matta-Clark’s own "calligraphy" emphasize the medium of drawing as an independent form. Some of the most elaborate and colorful compositions include trees, several of which refer to Matta-Clark’s Tree Dance performance at Vassar College in 1971. Near-abstract tree shapes also incorporate his calligraphic marks, with branches constructed from imaginary letters. Matta-Clark’s Notebooks, which combine elements of Surrealist automatic drawing with an interest in choreography, appealed to performance artists, including Laurie Anderson and Trisha Brown. This unparalleled presentation of Matta-Clark’s drawings is accompanied by new scholarship by Briony Fer, as well as an interview with artist Sarah Sze by Jessamyn Fiore, co-director of the Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark.