Suchitra Mattai Guyana, b. 1973
“I’m inspired by the mystery of the objects I find. When I combine multiple objects and mediums in a work, the collective aura translates into a space of new myth and new folktale. It's no longer about history. It’s about the immediate, and how the past plays into the contemporary conversation.”
- Suchitra Mattai
Suchitra Mattai is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work tells visual stories that touch on her Indo-Caribbean lineage. Blending painting, sculpture and installation with methods suggestive of domestic labor which she learned from her grandmother, such as sewing, embroidery and crocheting, the work addresses such topics as the legacy of colonialism, and relationships between culture and gender roles.
Mattai frequently uses found materials in her pieces that have their own embedded meanings, such as vintage saris, which relate to post-colonial concerns and contemporary issues surrounding gender, labor, and family. This creates a call and response between the materials, the topics addressed in the work, and processes involved in the work’s creation.
Mattai has lived in Canada, the United States, India, and Europe. Her studio practice addresses the disorientation of not really having a single home, a feeling that informs much of how she thinks about identity. Often, there is a sense of dislocation in the work between reality and what feels more like a dreamworld. The uncanny feeling being evoked is that of an idyllic, yet unfinished world. By unraveling and re-imagining the narratives associated with her heritage, she gives voice to people who have been quieted, or left out entirely of official historical accounts.
Mattai received an MFA in painting and drawing and an MA in South Asian art from the University of Pennsylvania, PA. Her work is in the collections of Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Bentonville, AR, USA; Jorge Pérez; Olivia Walton; Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, USA; Kiran Nader Museum of Art, Delhi, India; Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL, USA; TIA Collection, Santa Fe, NM, USA; and Taylor Art Collection, Denver, CO, USA; among many others, and has been reviewed in publications such as Hyperallergic, The Boston Globe, Widewalls, and Wallpaper Magazine, among others. Forthcoming exhibitions include In the Adjacent Possible at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI, USA; Form Forecast at MCA Chicago, IL, USA; The Depth of Identity: Art as Memory and Archive, curated by Rosie Gordon-Wallace and supported by the Green Foundation; Reorient at the Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, WA, USA; and Breathe into the Past: Cross Currents in the Caribbean, at the Colorado Fine Arts Center, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO. Recent exhibitions include Suchitra Mattai: Breathing Room, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID, USA; State of the Art 2020, Crystal Bridges Museum/the Momentary, Bentonville, AR, USA; Sharjah Biennial 14, Sharjah, UAE; and Realms of Refuge, Kavi Gupta, Chicago, IL, USA; as well as exhibitions at the Center for Visual Arts, Metropolitan State University of Denver, CO, USA and the San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX, USA.
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Suchitra MattaiCanadian, 2022vintage toboggan, acrylic, table runner from my wedding, zipper, and fiber72 x 27 in
182.9 x 68.6 cm -
Suchitra MattaiDouble Helix, 2022crylic on wood and found relief sculpture26 x 39 in
66 x 99.1 cm -
Suchitra MattaiPassive Resistance II, 2022acrylic, embroidery floss, beads, trim, vintage sari and vintage fabric44 x 52 in
111.8 x 132.1 cm -
Suchitra MattaiYou Complete Me, 2022vintage saris, fabric, found objects, spray paint, boas, and neon78 x 41 in
198.1 x 104.1 cm -
Suchitra MattaiA mended heart, a lightened soul, 2021vintage saris, fabric, ghungroo bells, and trim60 x 100 x 2 in
152.4 x 254 x 5.1 cm -
Suchitra MattaiCasting glances, throwing shade, 2021Vintage saris, broken glass from the debris of my broken studio window, fabric, Bollywood cassette tape, found sculpture, and vintage shelf95 x 38 in.
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Suchitra MattaiThe Fire Inside, 2022Acrylic, embroidery floss, gouache, sari, appliqués and fabric36 x 38 in
91.4 x 96.5 cm -
Suchitra MattaiA Time Machine for Renewed Love, 2021Acrylic, spray paint, gouache, oil, vintage brooches, embroidery floss, faux peacock feathers, and appliqués on canvas60 x 72 x 2 in
152.4 x 182.9 x 5.1 cm -
Suchitra MattaiHeld Still (in a silent echo), 2021Embroidery, Mixed media, Appliqué on Vintage Tapestry85 x 130 x 5 in
215.9 x 330.2 x 12.7 cm -
Suchitra MattaiA Porous Heart, 2022Vintage saris, fabric, beads, chain, ghungroo bells, and boas78 x 48 in
198.1 x 121.9 cm -
Suchitra MattaiThe Murmur of a Prayer, 2021Vintage saris, saris from the artist's mother, prayer Dupatta from the artist's grandmother, the artist's prayer Dupatta, Ghungroo bells, and feather boa65 x 40 in
165.1 x 101.6 cm -
Suchitra MattaiA Mother's Glow, 2021Vintage saris, (including my Mother's wedding saris from Guyana), ghungroo bells, fabric, rope net, and boas)95 x 52 x 3 in
241.3 x 132.1 x 7.6 cm
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Forthcoming, Suchitra Mattai: Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s to Today
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago 19 Nov 2022 - 23 Apr 2023Forecast Form is a major group exhibition of contemporary artists of the Caribbean diaspora that is inspired by the concept of weather and its changing forms. Using the weather’s...Read more -
Forthcoming, Suchitra Mattai
Kavi Gupta | Elizabeth St. Fl. 2 12 Nov - 20 Dec 2022 -
Forthcoming, Suchitra Mattai: The Depth of Identity: Art as Memory and Archive
Green Family Foundation Gallery, Miami, FL 11 Aug - 20 Oct 2022On view from August 11th to October 20th, The Depth of Identity: Art as Memory and Archive is a group exhibition featuring Suchitra Mattai offering a strident and compassionate investigation...Read more -
Forthcoming, Suchitra Mattai: inVISIBLE | hyperVISIBLE
Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, CO 20 May - 16 Jul 2022The theme inVISIBLE | hyperVISIBLE captures the struggles of Asians and Asian Americans to survive and thrive in the face of strong anti-Asian sentiment. Asians and Asian Americans are alternately...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai: In the Adjacent Possible
John Michael Kohler Arts Center 5 Apr 2022 - 26 Mar 2023In the Adjacent Possible is a response to sociologist Ruha Benjamin’s suggestion to “imagine and craft the worlds you cannot live without, just as you dismantle the ones you cannot...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai: Breathing Room
Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID 24 Jul 2021 - 30 Jan 2022Using materials often associated with the domestic sphere, such as embroidery, weaving, and fiber elements, Suchitra Mattai creates large-scale installations, sculptures and two-dimensional artworks that navigate her family heritage while...Read more -
Realms of Refuge
Kavi Gupta | 219 N. Elizabeth St. Chicago, IL 60607 10 Jul - 30 Oct 2021Kavi Gupta is proud to present Realms of Refuge, a group show bringing together for the first time new works by eight of the most dynamic artists working today: Dominic Chambers, Allana Clarke, Basil Kincaid, Tomokazu Matsuyama, Suchitra Mattai, Michi Meko, Devan Shimoyama, and Alisa Sikelianos-Carter.Read more -
Suchitra Mattai: Innocence and Everything After
K Contemporary, Denver, CO 18 Jul - 15 Aug 2020Denver, CO—K Contemporary is honored to present Suchitra Mattai’s solo exhibition, “Innocence and Everything After,” opening Saturday, July 18th and running through August 15th, 2020. Suchitra Mattai’s work speaks to...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai: State of the Art 2020
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art 22 Feb - 27 Jul 2020Crystal Bridges begins the new decade with the opening of the Momentary, a new space for contemporary visual and performing arts, and the debut of State of the Art 2020...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai: Fugue
The Vault Residency, Denver, CO, 2019 1 Jan - 15 Feb 2019fugue/fyo͞oɡ/ noun 1.MUSIC a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai
Museum of Contemporary At Denver, Fall/Winter 2018 1 Sep - 1 Dec 2018Born in Guyana, Denver-based artist Suchitra Mattai received an MFA in painting and drawing and an MA in South Asian art, both from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. She has...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai: Sugar Bound
Center for the Visual Arts, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO 30 Aug - 3 Nov 2018How does one define home and what does it mean to belong? Viewers are invited to consider these questions and explore how environments shape personal narratives, family histories and constructions...Read more -
Forthcoming: Suchitra Mattai at the ICA San Francisco
2023
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A Curatorial Conversation and Studio Visit with Artist Suchitra Mattai, curator Rebecca Hart, and gallerist Doug Kacena
February 16, 2022Rebecca Hart, Vicki and Kent Logan Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Denver Art Museum, will introduce and contextualize Suchitra Mattai’s work through...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai on her exhibition “History Reclaimed: Suchitra Mattai and Adrienne Elise Tarver”
January 25, 2022 -
Realms of Refuge, VR
July 29, 2021 -
Suchitra Mattai - Studio Visit
July 1, 2021 -
Artist Spotlight - A Studio Tour with Suchitra Mattai: Interviewed by Lauren Haynes
June 30, 2021This studio visit delves into the ideas, processes, and materials that inform Suchitra Mattai’s art practice which centers on stories of migration, displacement, and empowerment....Read more
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Kavi Gupta now representing Suchitra Mattai
ArtDaily -
Suchitra Mattai’s Guyana exists in the gaps of the Western archive
Emann Odufu, Document, March 8, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai Probes the Monstrous Misperceptions Around Immigrant Identity
Aaron Mok, Hyperallergic, March 8, 2022 -
Interview with Suchitra Mattai: Suchitra Mattai's Debut Solo NYC Art Show Herself as Another
WNYC, February 24, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai: No Ocean Between Us Exhibition Explores Asian Diasporas in Latin America
JoAnn Greco, The Pennsylvania Gazette, February 21, 2022 -
Spotlight: Artist Suchitra Mattai Weaves Myth and Memory Together in Her Dazzling Mixed-Media Works
Artnet News, February 17, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai’s Soulful Works Convey Unspeakable Truths
Salomé Gómez-Upegui, Artsy, February 4, 2022 -
CHECK OUT 5 EMERGING TALENTS THE ARTNET GALLERY NETWORK IS WATCHING THIS FEBRUARY
ARTNET GALLERY NETWORK, ARTNET, February 2, 2022 -
SUCHITRA MATTAI - A TALE OF TWO COUNTRIES: FINDING INDO-CARIBBEAN SHAKTI IN COLORADO
SADAF PADDER, HYPERALLERGIC, January 25, 2022 -
Monstering with Suchitra Mattai
Sammi Gale, Plinth, January 2, 2022 -
Looking for the Next Big Thing? Here Are 6 Exciting Artists to Watch From Miami Art Week 2021
Artnet News, Artnet, December 7, 2021 -
Pattern, Decoration, and the New Avant-Garde at Art Basel Miami
Anna Mikaela Ekstrand, Cultbytes, December 3, 2021 -
Suchitra Mattai’s latest exhibit takes a hard look at a difficult year, and envisions a path forward
Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, July 28, 2020 -
Suchitra Mattai Expands Our Sense of History and Identity in New Solo Show
CORINNE ANDERSON, 303 Magazine, July 23, 2020 -
Interview: Suchitra Mattai and sugar bound
Rachel Grammes, MCA Denver, September 14, 2018
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EXPO CHICAGO 2022
7 - 10 Apr 2022It is with great excitement that Kavi Gupta celebrates the return of EXPO Chicago. After almost three years, we are once again able to spotlight...Read more -
Art Basel Miami Beach 2021
2 - 4 Dec 2021For Art Basel Miami Beach 2021, Kavi Gupta presents an array of timely and important works by all of the artists represented in our diverse...Read more -
The Armory Show 2021
9 - 12 Sep 2021Sharing art in person is truly one of our most cherished experiences. While curating our booth for The Armory Show 2021, we were conscious to...Read more