Dedicating his life passionately to the creative arts, and convinced that

each discipline possesses not only its specific characteristics, but also its

intrinsic limitations, Charles Matton was a painter, draftsman, sculptor,

photographer, filmmaker, and writer. Haunted by the "urgent mystery" of

appearances, he pursued his endless formal, aesthetic, and metaphysical

quest employing the diverse media he mastered. Each of his themes -

some taken from his immediate environment, others featuring real or

illusory settings, still others based on the human figure - became the

object of experimentation. Charles Matton's boxes - created using a vast

range of techniques - are artistic microcosms, each participating in his

"strategy of encirclement" and all fitting together into the coherent

complexity of the body of work.

In deference to Matton's ongoing practice of taking stereoscopic

photographs of his works, a specially designed 3-D viewer is included in

this volume to allow readers to experience many of his creations in relief.

Bringing together some 500 images - including most of Charles Matton's

boxes, as well as their derivatives in painting, drawing, and sculpture -

this title also incorporates a broad selection of sketches, texts, and personal

notes that invite us into the intimacy of his creative universe.

Sylvie Matton