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Mauricio Matta

"I am fascinated by scrap metal. Garbage stimulates many reflections. Today, things become obsolete very quickly. In the garbage of big cities we can find fragmented symbols of our society: eyes of dolls, plastics, iron, car parts, and an infinity of discarded and dismissed objects. Art is the transformation of all of this, according to Lavoisier, and precipitates an analysis of what is really necessary. I think the lesson to be taken is that garbage gives to us and shows us that there is no such thing as error. There are paths which are considered more correct than others. Error is the unveiling of a new path. With elements that the majority of people consider useless, I create an infinite gamut of beings. This can teach us many things about the new behavioral parameters that we should consider along with the environment in this new millennium.

"I think of my sculptures as my children; when I sell them it is as if I were giving them up for adoption to those who can't have their own. My work is a mixture of influences, a sum of information that I receive everyday, materialized through a specific technique. Today I create pieces as large as 70 centimeters; tomorrow I would like to make them with dimensions of 70 meters. Oftentimes I arrive at a piece though the small details displayed by the materials in my hands; I go where the work takes me. Each sculpture is an experience, a novelty - to undo and take apart a piece that is almost ready is part of my routine.

"It took me some time before I dedicated myself to art, although I had been connected to painting and design since I was young. I was involved in several professional activities that never fulfilled me. The moment arrived in which I felt so suffocated by the conflict between art and profession that I had successive asthma attacks. When I decided to dedicate myself to sculpture, the asthma went away like a miracle. I have a strong belief that all human beings are born with a divine gift inside. Culture deconstructs this certainty, transforming people into objects: a lawyer, an artist, a bricklayer. The search of each person is a reencounter with this divinity. Art is the path I found for this reconstruction.

"To have the opportunity to exhibit my work with Novica is like putting a message inside of a bottle and tossing it into the sea. I hope to move people all over the world."