Suchitra Mattai: present bodies, future souls
For ADAA The Art Show, Roberts Projects is pleased to present a selection of new works by artist Suchitra Mattai that reflect on the duality of the body as a site of isolation and connection, where interior emotions are mediated through external expression. By utilizing clothing as both a profound metaphor and its primary material, these intricate mixed-media works declare the body as a contact zone which equally conceals and reveals who we are and who we aspire to be.
This series emerges from the South Asian traditions that view the body as a signifier of the cosmos and interconnectedness of all life forms. Scholar and author Diana Eck expands on this notion, saying, “No image is as evocative as the body in suggesting the systemic whole—interrelated, with distinctive differences, and yet an organic unity.” As the artist combines found saris and objects from the domestic sphere with narrative fragments that reference the figure, Mattai invites viewers to contemplate the lives and stories that they represent. These materials are woven into a vision of the future that channels the rich imagination of folklore, where heroines and goddesses create portals to a world built on ideas of sustainability, empathy and hybridity.
In conjunction with the presentation, a fully illustrated catalogue will be published by Roberts Projects.
About the Artist
Suchitra Mattai (b. 1973 Georgetown, Guyana; based in Los Angeles, CA) is a multi-disciplinary artist of Indo-Caribbean descent. Mattai received an MFA in painting and drawing and an MA in South Asian art from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Past projects include group exhibitions at the MCA Chicago, Crystal Bridges Museum, the Sharjah Biennial, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Tampa Museum of Art, the MCA Denver and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, and solo exhibitions at the ICA San Francisco and Socrates Sculpture Park in NYC. Recent projects include a solo exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Upcoming group exhibitions include ICA San Jose and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT. Her works are represented in collections which include Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Tampa Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Tia Collection and the University of Michigan Museum of Art.
For additional information regarding Suchitra Mattai, please contact Mary Skarbek, Senior Director at 1.323.549.0223 or mary@robertsprojectsla.com.
For additional information on ADAA The Art Show, visit theartshow.org.
For press inquiries, please contact the team at ALMA.
