Etoile Des Jardins (Star of the Gardens)

Roberto Sebastian Matta

This large color carborundum etching and aquatint was one of a series of eight that were published by Nordstamp Fine Art, Buford, Georgia in 1995.

Carborundum printmaking is a collagraphic process in which the image is created on the plate by painting carborundum (an abrasive grit) mixed with an acrylic medium. Once dried (usually overnight), the plate is inked, wiped and printed with an etching press in the same manner as other intaglio plates. Since the carborundum mixture is built up on the plate, the paper embosses when going through the press creating a rich velvety surface. The plates are strong and can be printed many times.

Matta creates a Surrealist garden, perhaps the Garden of Eden, with fantasy figures and flora. This image was done after the catalog raisonne was printed.