Mathías Goeritz (1915-1990)

Atlantic Richfield Collection, Denver
Denver Art Museum, Denver (Deaccessioned, 2009)

Lily Kassner, Mathias Goeritz, Obras 1915 - 1990, Mexico City, 1998, no. 717, p. 178, illustrated

The wood panel underneath the metal is painted green. There are some scattered areas of corrosion. The gold in the metal has been scratched in several areas: mostly by the upper left corner area, as well as the center part of the upper margin and the far right side. However, the scratches are not overwhelming. A piece of metal is lifted slightly from the frame, 12 in. from the upper left corner, There is a tear in the metal, perhaps intentional, in the lower margin toward the center. There is a white 1 in. vertical paint stain 35 in. from the upper left corner and a smaller one 26 ½ in. from the same corner. Overall the work is in very good condition.
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Both Herbert Bayer and Mathias Goeritz were known for being extraordinary teachers. Bayer was dedicated to teaching in the Bauhaus school, and Goeritz implemented his own methodology, based on the ideas put forth by this school.
In 1968, Herbert Bayer was invited by Mathias Goeritz to the XIX Cultural Olympics in Mexico, where he completed a magnificent urban sculpture. This bears witness to the close friendship and collaboration that arose between these two great creators. Later, Mathias Goeritz would visit Herbert Bayer in the United States to collaborate in diverse projects for the Atlantic Richfield Company.
In 1979, as part of these projects, Goeritz proposes the placement of two Mensajes in the offices of the Anaconda Tower in Denver. These works of great artistic quality would have different colored backgrounds, one red and one green.
The Mensaje shown in this catalogue is one of these two exceptional works, done on wood painted green and covered with a perforated golden sheet. Each one refers to a Biblical verse, chosen for an exacerbated sense of drama.
Goeritz defended a stance of anonymity and absence of vanity when it came to his work, thus adopting an absolute and uninterested delivery, like that of the artisans of the past.

Dr Lily Kassner,
Spring 2010