Suchitra Mattai Guyana, b. 1973
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 has lived in Guyana, Canada, the United States, India, and Europe. Her work addresses the disorientation of not really having a single home—a feeling that informs much of how Mattai thinks about identity. Found objects, as well as craft-based processes and materials, play an essential role in her practice, in part because of the potentialities that arise from materials with forgotten or erased histories.
“I’m inspired by the mystery of the objects I find,” Mattai says. “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.”
Among Mattai’s most illustrative bodies of work are her vibrant, kaleidoscopic sari tapestries. The process of their creation involves traditional domestic labor techniques such as sewing, embroidery, and crocheting, which Mattai learned from her grandmothers. Expressive of her own multi-layered identity, they are made from a mixture of everyday found materials such as feather boas, fabric, beads, and rope, and legacy materials such as ghungroo bells, prayer Dupattas, and her mother’s vintage saris, which possess embedded cultural and familial meanings. Though they are fundamentally abstract, Mattai mobilizes the materials and methods involved in these works to address such topics as the legacy of colonialism, and contemporary issues surrounding gender, labor, and family.
“Many of my references are unambiguous, because I’m highlighting a history that hasn’t been told before, and giving voice to people who weren’t included in written history,” Mattai says. “It becomes important to focus on them and their stories, but hopefully not to the detriment of making the work widely understood.”
The poetry, Mattai explains, is in the gap. Masterfully mingling the singular and the ubiquitous, as well as the objective and the non-objective, her juxtapositions create a call and response between the specific materials, processes, and topics addressed in the work, and the unknown lived experiences of the individual viewer. Someone might not know all the specific references, but through an emotive or empathetic reaction to the work, they can still relate and even locate themselves within Mattai’s new myths.
“It’s about creating a new, more universal folklore that is intercultural, and not only situated in the past,” Mattai says. “Most of the heroines that appear in my work are contemporary. That is something that is important to me. It’s about revisiting history so I can talk about the present, and be relevant to this moment.”
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. Current and 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 MattaiAn Origin Story, 2022Saris, fabric, and rope net75 x 68 in
190.5 x 172.7 cm -
Suchitra Mattaibarefoot in the moon's light, 2022Vintage saris, ghungroo bells, clothes pins, jute, and fabric70 x 76 in
177.8 x 193 cm -
Suchitra Mattaibloom, 2022Vintage saris, fabric, feather boas, trim and peacock feather80 x 48 in
203.2 x 121.9 cm -
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, 2022Acrylic on wood and found relief sculpture26 x 39 in
66 x 99.1 cm -
Suchitra Mattaione, 2022Vintage saris, my Mother's sari, fabric and rope net.126 x 180 in
320 x 457.2 cm -
Suchitra MattaiOsmosis, 2022Salt, fabric, cords, woodDimensions variable
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Suchitra MattaiPassive Resistance II, 2022acrylic, embroidery floss, beads, trim, vintage sari and vintage fabric44 x 52 in
111.8 x 132.1 cm -
Suchitra Mattairapture, 2022My family's sari blouses, my friend's grandmother's heirloom piano blanket, vintage gymnastics outfit, vintage saris, fiber, faux pearls, and vintage brooch115 x 60 in
292.1 x 152.4 cm -
Suchitra Mattaishadow of a Woman with Vajra (Divine Weapon), 2022embroidery floss, acrylic, faux fur, and trim on vintage fabric36 x 38 in
91.4 x 96.5 cm -
Suchitra MattaiTeam Spirit, 2022Vintage saris and fabric39 x 40 in
99.1 x 101.6 cm -
Suchitra Mattaithe flame turned blue, 2022Vintage saris, jute, fabric, and boas60 x 42 in
152.4 x 106.7 cm -
Suchitra Mattaithe light we know and the dark we keep, 2022Vintage saris, fabric, and tassels122 x 115 in
309.9 x 292.1 cm -
Suchitra Mattaitwo plaits (braids) one heart, 2022Vintage saris, fabric, fringe, and cord50 x 35 in
127 x 88.9 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.
241.3 x 96.52 cm -
Suchitra Mattaia cup of tea a bit of war , 2020Acrylic, embroidery floss, found needlepoint, and gouache26 x 26 in
66 x 66 cm -
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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Suchitra Mattai in State of the Art: Constructs
Akron Art Museum, Ohio 22 Nov 2022 - 26 Feb 2023State of the Art: Constructs came about through a journey led by curators from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. These curators traveled across the United States searching for...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai & Firelei Báez in Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s to Today
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL 19 Nov 2022 - 23 Apr 2023The 1990s were a period of profound social, political, and economic transformation. From the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc to the rise of transnational trade agreements, the decade’s large-scale shifts...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai, Osmosis
Kavi Gupta | Elizabeth St. Fl. 2 12 Nov 2022 - 4 Mar 2023Kavi Gupta presents Osmosis, a solo exhibition of new multi-media works by Indo-Caribbean American artist Suchitra Mattai. Thinking about the saltwater ocean migrations that have shaped her family’s cultural and...Read more -
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 -
Suchitra Mattai: i know you are, but what am i? (De)Framing Identity and the Body
Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City, UT 24 Jun 2022 - 7 Jan 2023i know you are, but what am i? (De)Framing Identity and the Body focuses on the use of the figure, in contemporary art, to explore culture, identity, fluidity, body positivity––and...Read more -
Suchitra Mattai in Reorient: Journeys Through Art and Healing
Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, WA 10 Jun 2022 - 14 May 2023Art and history come together to tell a multidimensional story about humanity. Art is a catalyst for healing cultural pain, both personal and collective. In this exhibition, four artists address...Read more -
Su Su & Suchitra Mattai in State of the Art 2020: Constructs
Sarasota Art Museum, Sarasota, FL 24 Apr - 11 Sep 2022State of the Art 2020: Constructs is an exploration into how contemporary art – produced all across the country including regions outside traditional art centers – reflects the present moment....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
2024
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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 -
Artist Video - Suchitra Mattai
May 6, 2021 -
Suchitra Mattai - Artist Interview
March 23, 2021
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Suchitra Mattai and Firelei Báez in Review: ‘Forecast Form’ at the MCA shows the Caribbean is not what you think
Lori Waxman, The Chicago Tribune, March 8, 2023 -
Suchitra Mattai: The Best Booths at LA’s Felix Art Fair, From Biting Art World Commentary to Innovative Approaches to Te
Maximilíano Durón, ArtNews, February 16, 2023 -
Suchitra Mattai: Forecast Form
Gervais Marsh, The Brooklyn Rail , February 1, 2023 -
Miya Ando & Suchitra Mattai: 6 Art Exhibitions in Chicago to Check Out Right Now
Xiao Faria daCunha, Urban Matter, January 16, 2023 -
Global Audiences Join Kavi Gupta in Singapore for ART SG
January 12, 2023 -
A Conversation with Suchitra Mattai
Cerebral Women Podcast, January 11, 2023 -
Suchitra Mattai: Must-See Museum Shows for January
Art In America, January 2, 2023 -
The Aesthetics of Salt: A Review of Suchitra Mattai’s Osmosis at Kavi Gupta
Vasia Rigou, New City, December 15, 2022 -
Art Basel Miami Beach Plays It Safe in the Sun
Brian P. Kelly, The Wall Street Journal , November 30, 2022 -
Arghavan Khosravi & Suchitra Mattai: The Best Booths at Art Basel Miami Beach 2022
MAXIMILÍANO DURÓN, ArtNews, November 29, 2022 -
Jeffrey Gibson, Tony Tasset & Suchitra Mattai: The Rebirth of an American Icon: Welcome (Back) to Canoe Place
AFAR, September 23, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai: The Armory Show 2022: Textured Works
Katie Olsen & David Graver, Cool Hunting, September 9, 2022 -
The 10 Best Booths at The Armory Show
Ayanna Dozier, Artsy, September 9, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai: How Art and Aspen ‘Intersect’
Katherine Roberts, The Aspen Times, July 28, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai: UMOCA’s ‘(De)Framing Identity and the Body’
Heather Hopkins, The Daily Utah Chronicle , July 25, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai & Su Su: Sarasota Art Museum exhibit provides images of the nation
Marty Fugate, Herald Tribune, June 29, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai: At 88, an undiscovered painter makes his museum debut at Wing Luke
Margo Vansynghel, Crosscut, June 10, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai: “Reorient” at Wing Luke explores link between art and healing
Kai Curry, Northwest Asian Weekly, June 9, 2022 -
Suchitra Mattai: Five Artists Conjure Worlds Just Beyond Reach at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Hyperallergic, May 23, 2022 -
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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Kavi Gupta | Felix Art Fair 2023
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Los Angeles, CA | Suite 1210 15 - 19 Feb 2023Kavi Gupta welcomes the return of the Felix Art Fair, February 15-19, 2023 in Los Angeles. The elegant, boutique interior of the historic Hollywood Roosevelt...Read more -
Art Singapore 2023
Booth 1F01, Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Singapore 11 - 15 Jan 2023Join us January 11-15, 2023, in Singapore for the inaugural edition of ART SG, Southeast Asia’s largest art fair. Our presentation will include a diverse...Read more -
Art Basel Miami Beach 2022
29 Nov - 3 Dec 2022Kavi Gupta’s presentation at Art Basel Miami Beach 2022 continues our mission to amplify the voices of diverse and underrepresented artists by spotlighting new works...Read more -
Opening Reception: Suchitra Mattai, Osmosis and Exhibition Walkthrough with Lauren Haynes
Kavi Gupta | Elizabeth St. Fl. 2 12 Nov 2022Join Kavi Gupta on Saturday, November 12 from 4–7 PM for the opening recepetion of Osmosis, a solo exhibition of new multi-media works by Indo-Caribbean...Read more -
Frieze London 2022
Regent's Park, London, UK 12 - 16 Oct 2022VIP PREVIEW Wednesday, October 12 | 11 AM–7 PM OPENING HOURS Thursday, October 13 | 11 AM–7 PM Friday, October 14 | 11 AM–7 PM...Read more -
The Armory Show 2022
Javits Center, New York, NY 9 - 11 Sep 2022VIP PREVIEW Thursday, September 8 | 12–8 PM PUBLIC DATES Friday, September 9 | 12–8 PM Saturday, September 10 | 12–7 PM Sunday, September...Read more -
ArtCrush 2022
Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO 5 Aug 2022Jeffrey Gibson, Double Fortune, 2022 (detail). Printed cotton canvas, lyrca fabric, cotton thread, nylon thread, holographic vinyl fabric, acrylic felt, sculpting wire, acrylic druzy beads,...Read more -
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