Gordon Matta-Clark

At the Kulturforum Berlin, between the Neue Nationalgalerie and the Philharmonie, a new building is currently being constructed to house the Nationalgalerie’s significant collections of 20th-century art.

The spectrum ranges from German Expressionism through French Cubism and Surrealism to US and international Western art after 1960, as well as film, media and performance art from the 1970s to the 2000s.

Gordon Matta-Clark

The American conceptual artist and architect Gordon Matta-Clark (1943–1978) is particularly well known for his radical ‘Building Cuts’, in which he made physical incisions into buildings earmarked for demolition, split them open and cut geometric shapes into their structures. He was the son of the Chilean surrealist painter Roberto Matta and the American artist Anne Clark.

Through these large-scale architectural interventions, he engaged directly with urban space and the communities living there. His works can be read as a critical commentary on the urban planning and economic issues of his time: from social exclusion and the neglect of residential areas, through the demolition of housing estates, to speculation and gentrification.

By combining a wide range of media, he transcended the boundaries between architecture, sculpture, conceptual and performance art, and social practice. This unique approach made him one of the most innovative and influential artists of his generation, as well as a central figure in the New York art scene of the 1970s.

Exhibition ‘Gordon Matta-Clark. On Site’

The exhibition at berlin modern presents key works from the most formative period of his career in the 1970s, including ‘Clockshower’ (1973), ‘Splitting’ (1974), ‘Conical Intersect’ (1975), ‘City Slivers’ (1976) and ‘Office Baroque’ (1977) – realised in cities including New York, Paris and Antwerp. The most prominent work on display is ‘Conical Intersect’, a site-specific piece set against the backdrop of the Centre Pompidou, which was still under construction at the time. The work formed part of the 1975 Paris Biennale.

The exhibition – a tribute to Matta-Clark’s work – offers a striking encounter with his unique and radical artistic approach, which continues to inspire generations of artists to this day.

First exhibition at berlin modern

The new museum, currently under construction to a design by Herzog & de Meuron, offers an extraordinary temporary exhibition setting for Matta-Clark’s work. The area for social practice planned for the basement of berlin modern also takes Gordon Matta-Clark’s work and his approach to social practice as a model. Matta-Clark explored social and urban themes in projects such as his SoHo restaurant Food (1971–73) in New York and his ‘Building Cuts’.

In the as-yet-unfinished berlin modern, visitors experience Gordon Matta-Clark’s works amidst the building site and become part of this unusual spatial situation themselves. It is the first exhibition in Berlin’s new museum.

Curatorial team

The exhibition is curated by Klaus Biesenbach, Director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, together with Ricarda Bergmann.

• A project of the Neue Nationalgalerie – Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz at berlin modern