El animal de tres piezas

After a peripatetic existence during World War II, the German painter and sculptor Matias Goeritz settled in Mexico in 1949. In Mexico, Goeritz joined a thriving community of creative expatriots who had emigrated from Europe during the war. While Goeritz was likely inspired by fellow foreign-born contemporaries like Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, Bridget Tichenor, Wolfgang Paalen and Alice Rahon, his most fruitful artistic collaborations were with Mexico’s esteemed architect Luis Barragán.

During the 1950s, Goeritz created striking sculptures for two of Barragán’s most important architectural projects: Jardines de Pedregal and Ciudad Satélite. The present work is a testament to the creative synergy between Mexico’s greatest 20th century architect and one of its most original visual artists. El animal de tres piezas is from a series of five wooden sculptures with moveable parts that served as the catalyst for Goeritz’s El animal de Pedregal, a pre-historic serpent like figure carved in concrete, placed at the main entrance of Barragán’s Jardines de Pedregal, one of the first groundbreaking residential communities in Mexico City to seamlessly integrate architecture and landscape.