Suchitra Mattai

Last updated
Suchitra Mattai
Born1973 (age 51–52)
Georgetown, Guyana
Education Rutgers University (BA),
University of Pennsylvania (MFA, MA)
OccupationVisual artist
Known forMixed media painting, fiber work, sculpture, large scale installation
Website suchitramattaiart.com

Suchitra Mattai (born 1973) is a Guyanese-born American multidisciplinary contemporary artist, of South Asian descent. [1] [2] Her art practice includes mixed media paintings, fiber works, sculptures, and large scale installations [3] which draw upon myth, memory, [4] and her ancestral history, [5] and often invite critical reflection on the legacy of colonialism in the Indo-Caribbean. [6] [7] She lives in Los Angeles, California, [7] and previously lived in Denver, Colorado, [8] [9] and Canada.

Contents

In 2024, she produced an American Hindi-language short drama film Anuja , which tells the story of Anuja, a gifted nine-year-old girl who, alongside her sister Palak, faces a life-changing opportunity that tests their bond and mirrors the struggles of girls worldwide. It has been shortlisted for the 2025 Academy Awards in the live-action short film category. [10]

Early life and education

Mattai was born in 1973, in Georgetown, Guyana. [1] [11] Her great-grandparents were indentured laborers, brought from Uttar Pradesh in northern India to the Caribbean country of Guyana to work the sugar plantations under the British colonialists. [2] [12] In 1974, young Mattai and her family moved to Canada. [13] As a child, Mattai learned sewing, embroidering, and other craft-based techniques from her grandmothers. [14]

Mattai attended Rutgers University as an undergraduate, and graduated in 1994 with a BA degree in statistics.[ citation needed ] She received fellowships to study at the American Institute of Indian Studies (2000), Udaipur, India; and the Royal College of Art (2002), London.[ citation needed ] Mattai holds an MFA degree in painting and drawing, and an MA degree in South Asian art, both from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. [15]

Work

Mattai's works include a wide-range materials and processes, from collages that incorporate colonial-era prints to large-scale sculptures and tapestries woven out of saris collected from her family. [16]

Her work has been exhibited at the Sharjah Biennial 14 (2019) in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; [17] [18] the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (2022–2023); [19] the Crystal Bridges Museum (2020), Bentonville, Arkansas; [9] the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2023); [20] [21] the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2024); [22] and the Kohler Arts Center (2022–2023), in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. [23] Mattai's work is also part of the Jorge M. Perez Collection, displayed at the El Espacio 23, in Miami, Florida. [24]

She Walked in Reverse and Found Their Song (2024)

Through multiple mixed-media installations, Mattai's solo exhibition She Walked in Reverse and Found Their Song (2024) at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco conjures an imagined domestic space inspired by Mattai's mother's familial home. [25] [26] Mattai's interactive sculptures invite viewers to explore the concept of "home" and to feel the power of family, care, and community in the face of migration and upheaval.

We are nomads, we are dreamers (2024)

A commissioned large-scale work titled, We are nomads, we are dreamers (2024) by Suchitra Mattai at the Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens, New York City, [27] [28] commemorating the migratory journeys of diasporic communities across oceans. The work was inspired by the Park's position along the East River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean, Mattai's installation features a series of sculptures at monumental size that combine mirrored stainless steel, vintage saris, and other fabric. The space has been activated by monthly dance performances, and pays homage to the artist's Indo-Caribbean ancestors and the stories of many Queens residents.

Awards and honors

Recent recognitions of Mattai's work include an Anonymous Was a Woman Award (2023), [29] and a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship (2023). [30]

Collections

Mattai's work is part of the permanent collections of several notable museums, including:

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

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References

  1. 1 2 "Suchitra Mattai, the light we know and the dark we keep". Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  2. 1 2 3 Westall, Mark (2023-11-14). "Roberts Projects now represent Suchitra Mattai". FAD Magazine. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  3. ↑ Wu, Jenny (October 30, 2023). "Suchitra Mattai's Perfect Future". Art Review. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  4. ↑ Magnatta, Sarah (March 19, 2023). ""Resonant Presence: Materiality and Memory in the Work of Suchitra Mattai"". Art Journal. 82: 16–33. doi:10.1080/00043249.2023.2180276.
  5. ↑ Aneiza Ali, Grace (2023). Are we free to move about the world: The passport in contemporary art. Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts.
  6. ↑ Wendt, Selene (October 5, 2021). "The Past is Present," in Beyond the Door of No Return: Confronting Hidden Colonial Histories through Contemporary Art. Sikra. ISBN   978-8857245607.
  7. 1 2 White, Katie (2023-08-08). "In Her Los Angeles Studio, Suchitra Mattai Weaves Vibrant Tapestries Out of Saris and Dreams Up Epically Scaled Installations". Artnet News. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  8. ↑ Mok, Aaron (2022-03-08). "Suchitra Mattai Probes the Monstrous Misperceptions Around Immigrant Identity". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  9. 1 2 3 Rinaldi, Ray Mark (2020-07-28). "Artist Suchitra Mattai's latest exhibit takes a hard look at a difficult year, and envisions a path forward". The Denver Post . Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  10. ↑ Naman Ramachandran (8 January 2025). "Priyanka Chopra Jonas Joins Oscar-Shortlisted 'Anuja' as Executive Producer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Suchitra Mattai: Myth from Matter | Exhibition". NMWA. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  12. ↑ Wong, Harley (2023-08-24). "Suchitra Mattai's European Pastorals Make Brown Women the Main Character". Frieze. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  13. ↑ Ali, Grace Aneiza (2020-09-29). Liminal Spaces: Migration and Women of the Guyanese Diaspora. Open Book Publishers. p. 320. ISBN   978-1-78374-990-4 – via Google Books.
  14. ↑ "Suchitra Mattai, the light we know and the dark we keep". Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  15. 1 2 "Suchitra Mattai: Breathing Room". Boise Art Museum. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  16. ↑ Adrian-Diaz, Jenna (2023-08-01). "Suchitra Mattai Probes the Intersection of Craft, Art, and South Asian Culture". Surface magazine. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  17. ↑ Diamond, Bailey (2021-02-11). "Visual artist Suchitra Mattai shares personal art endeavors". CU Independent. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  18. ↑ "Sharjah Biennial 14: Leaving the Echo Chamber". e-flux.com. September 26, 2018. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  19. ↑ "A Complex Survey of the Caribbean Diaspora in Chicago Goes Beyond Geographical Boundaries". ARTnews.com. 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  20. ↑ Messman, Lauren (Oct 18, 2023). "At Museums and Galleries, a Spirit of Togetherness". The New York Times .
  21. ↑ Brown, Nell Porter (2023-12-07). "Fresh Takes on the Caribbean". Harvard Magazine . Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  22. ↑ "Major group exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego explores the Caribbean diaspora through recent art". Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD). Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  23. ↑ "Mattai, Suchitra". John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  24. ↑ "To Weave the Sky: Textile Abstractions from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection". El Espacio 23. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  25. ↑ Bravo, Tony (May 24, 2024). "Summer 2024: Visual arts sizzle with epic installations and exciting exhibitions". Datebook, San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  26. 1 2 "she walked in reverse and found their songs". ICA SF. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  27. ↑ Saraniero, Nicole (2024-05-01). "Must-See Public Art Installations in NYC, May 2024". Untapped New York. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  28. ↑ Smith, Melissa; Dowling, Danielle (2024-06-19). "Free Things to Do in New York, Every Day of the Week". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  29. ↑ "2023". Anonymous Was A Woman. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  30. ↑ "Smithsonian Announces Its 2023 Artist Research Fellows". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  31. ↑ "State of the Art 2020 Update: Crystal Bridges Acquires Artworks and a New VR Experience". Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  32. ↑ "Suchitra Mattai, the light we know and the dark we keep". Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  33. ↑ "All in Favor: New Works in the Permanent Collection". Tampa Museum of Art. 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  34. ↑ "A Mighty Queen". Portland Museum of Art Collections. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  35. ↑ "Art Museum, Art Classes Omaha Nebraska". Joslyn Art Museum Omaha Nebraska. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  36. ↑ "bodies and souls (fabric element)". University of Michigan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  37. ↑ "Center for Visual Art". MSU Denver. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  38. ↑ Bova, Patrick (2018-08-31). "Suchitra Mattai: sugar bound". Guyana Modern. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  39. ↑ "The Aesthetics of Salt: A Review of Suchitra Mattai's "Osmosis" at Kavi Gupta". Newcity Art. 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  40. ↑ Mok, Aaron (2022-03-08). "Suchitra Mattai Probes the Monstrous Misperceptions Around Immigrant Identity". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2024-06-22.
  41. ↑ "Upcoming Exhibitions". Tampa Museum of Art. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  42. ↑ Capps, Kriston (October 15, 2023). "Is a Women's Museum Still Relevant?". The New York Times .
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