Isolation and Death
In 1936 Matulka helped found the American Abstract Artists, but refused to join the group. His emotional state continued to decline, even more so when his sister Barbara killed herself on July 5. By the time his association with the Federal Art Project ended in 1939 he had become even more socially and emotionally isolated. He continued painting more and more experimental works.
Over the next few decades Matulka received much acclaim from his exhibitions, but remains relatively withdrawn from society. As age caught up with him, he suffered from many health issues, including deafness. Matulka died June 25, 1972 in New York City.
Read more about this topic: Jan Matulka
Famous quotes containing the words isolation and/or death:
“But your isolation must not be mechanical, but spiritual, that is, must be elevation.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Since the death instinct exists in the heart of everything that lives, since we suffer from trying to repress it, since everything that lives longs for rest, let us unfasten the ties that bind us to life, let us cultivate our death wish, let us develop it, water it like a plant, let it grow unhindered. Suffering and fear are born from the repression of the death wish.”
—Eugène Ionesco (b. 1912)