Sebastiàn Matta

Illustrated letter, Eighties, mixed media on paper, 30×21 cm

Don Quixote, Eighties, mixed media on paper, 10×21 cm

The letter displayed here was sent by Sebastiàn Matta (1911-2002) to Maurizio Valenzi during the organizational preparations of the exhibition Matta. Odyssean stopped in Naples, held at Naples, Royal Palace, in 1981 when Maurizio was the mayor.  

The letter reads

“Dear Maurizio: we all called 655624, at least 600,000 times. 

We called you with wine, sausages, bottles, at midnight, all naked, dressed, with refined tones, on the terrace, at gunpoint, and sweetly, but without success. I embrace you all from family to family.” 

Maurizio Valenzi, after being elected Mayor of Naples, had changed his phone number several times due to the continuous calls from citizens with the most disparate demands.  

For this reason, despite the countless attempts in different conditions, Sebastian Matta had not been able to contact him and had fun sending these drawings.