Read Our Interview of Mattea Perrotta on the Occasion of Her Solo Opening @ Praz Delavallade in Los Angeles →

Mattea Perrotta, Perdòno, 2023 oil on canvas57 x 77 in195.6 x 144.8 cm

Mattea Perrotta
Perdòno, 2023
oil on canvas
57 x 77 in
195.6 x 144.8 cm

Our primary means of conveying meaning is through spoken and written forms, as well as sign language. But what do we do when faced with language barriers, unable to verbally communicate with another/others? Google translate is one option, but what happens when we use our imagination? Or when we explore the imagination of others through our own unique lens?

The earliest civilizations used cave walls as canvases to share their knowledge, beliefs, and stories. For visual artist, Mattea Perrotta, art has become a way of conveying her secrets and vulnerabilities. It has also become a lexicon to connect with others, often from different countries and communities. During her time in Morocco, challenged with learning Arabic but keen to connect with her hosts, she started using drawings to engage with her companions. It was a familiar and natural way of interpreting the world around her. 

A diagnosis of synesthesia at an early age was the catalyst for Perrotta’s need to develop an individual language; mathematical formulas made sense when color coded, as did phone numbers. This subsequently translated into her art form, which began with abstract shapes, defining her earlier career. Perrotta’s practice evolved organically, and in recent years a figurative approach has occupied her canvases as she investigates, questions and challenges the canon of art history referencing the work of Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci.

This May, Perrotta is exhibiting in her hometown, Los Angeles, for the first time since moving to Europe five years ago. Her solo show, In A Forgotten Tongue, at Praz Delavallade, signifies a turning point for the artist, harking back to an abstract style whilst continuing her investigation into art historical movements; Baroque, Renaissance and Cubism. Each shape within a canvas, or tapestry work, takes on its own vocabulary, distinguished by color and size. As this is Perrotta’s secret language, we are left with subtle signals and our imaginations to interpret the work.  

In the following interview, the artist explains why she describes her paintings as being similar to lasagna and what she will be researching during her residency this summer at the American Academy Rome. Read more.

AMEN Picasso: A Night @ The Picasso Museum in Paris

AMEN Candles celebrates the launch of AMEN Picasso with Diana Picasso, Haider Ackerman, Ellen Von Unwerth, Delphine Arnault, Giambatista Valli, Marco Ribeiro, Willy Cartier, Sinichiro Ogata, Prince Wenzeslaus of Liechtenstein, Pauline Ducruet, Quentin de Briey among many others.

Maison AMEN is a Paris-based candle brand that was established by Uruguayan-born designer Rodrigo Garcia in 2020. Pioneers within the market, they create high-end candle and light sculpture designs that are handmade in Grasse, the world capital of perfumery, just minutes away from Pablo’s Antibes Studio. On a mission to create a world free of plastic, AMEN’s products are entirely sustainable, made from vegetal wax that is free of toxic paraffin. They are poured into a reusable porcelain jar and packaged in plastic-free, mushroom containers that are carbon negative. The launch of their new collection of candles took place at the Musée national Picasso-Paris in collaboration with Diana W. Picasso, curator of the exhibition Maya Ruiz-Picasso: Daughter of Pablo.

With the aim of bringing together a significant ensemble of fourteen portraits, the exhibition asks us to reexamine a part of Picasso’s oeuvre through the prism of their filial relationship to highlight the bond that unites father and daughter and to emphasize how Maya’s presence nourished and amplified the artist’s fascination for childhood. Through the presentation of major works from the 1930s — portraits of Maya and Marie-Thérèse — sculptures, paper cut-outs, and memorabilia such as letters, poems, and personal objects, the project seeks to illustrate this chapter of Picasso’s intimate history. Completed by an important selection of photographs, some of which hitherto unseen, the exhibition will, more generally, question the relationship between Picasso and his children, notably during his years in Cannes during which the artist shared happy moments with his four children gathered together. It is the first of many Picasso exhibitions that will take place at museums around the globe throughout the year of 2023 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death.

The scented candles were selected by Rodrigo Garcia and Diana Picasso. As curator of innumerable Picasso exhibitions, she combines paintings with feelings and memories from her life as the artist’s granddaughter. “I felt strongly that the scent for Figure (1927) was Naranja y Canela, a Mediterranean summer in the south of France. Acrobate (1932) became the strength of the Ginger and Nu couche (1932), which translates to ‘Lying down naked’ is the sensuality of Amber. For Guitar a la main blanche (1932) with the letters MT, I remembered a love letter of my grandfather Pablo to my grandmother ‘You are always on me, Marie-Thérèse, mother of sparkling perfumes pungent with star jasmines.’ To me, it's been the most exhilarating experience to add sense to all these profoundly emotional works. I immediately responded to the beliefs behind AMEN: to add soul to the scents and to cherish our Mother Earth.”

scribbles of writing on a piece of paper.

The collection is available to purchase at the Musée National Picasso, Paris Dover Street Parfums Matket, the Met Museum New York, Gagosian’s galleries in New York & London, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Selfridges, Antonioli Milan, Moda Operandi, and globally through amencandles.fr. Maya Ruiz-Picasso: Daughter of Pablo is on view through December 31 at the Musée national Picasso-Paris 5 rue de Thorigny, 75003.