Matthew Wong

{{Infobox person

| name = Matthew Wong

| image =

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| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1984|3|8}}

| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada

| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|10|2|1984|3|8}}

| death_place = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

| death_cause =

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| education = University of Michigan &

City University of Hong Kong

| employer =

| occupation = Painter

}}

Matthew Wong ({{zh|c=王俊傑|s=|t=|p=}};{{Cite web|title=Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre Newsletter Oct-Dec 2015 -- 地的動脈 - 王俊傑繪畫 Pulse of the Land - Matthew Wong Paintings|url=https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/APO/documents/794617/794715/APO_Newsletter_1012-2015_v2.pdf}} March 8, 1984 – October 2, 2019) was a Canadian artist. Self-taught as a painter, Wong received critical acclaim for his work before his death in 2019 at the age of 35.{{Cite web|last=Archive|first=Asia Art|title=Matthew Wong: Chapter One|url=https://aaa.org.hk/en/collection/search/library/matthew-wong-chapter-one|access-date=2020-06-06|website=aaa.org.hk|language=en|archive-date=2020-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606105901/https://aaa.org.hk/en/collection/search/library/matthew-wong-chapter-one|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title='He was just starting': The exceptional life and artistic legacy of Matthew Wong|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/article-he-was-just-starting-the-exceptional-life-and-artistic-legacy-of/|access-date=2020-06-06|archive-date=2020-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708025613/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/article-he-was-just-starting-the-exceptional-life-and-artistic-legacy-of/|url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine|title=Matthew Wong|url=https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/art/matthew-wong|access-date=2020-06-06|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en|archive-date=2021-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925163007/https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/art/matthew-wong|url-status=live}} Roberta Smith, co-chief art critic at The New York Times, has praised Wong as "one of the most talented painters of his generation."{{Cite news|last=Smith|first=Roberta|date=2019-12-24|title=A Final Rhapsody in Blue From Matthew Wong|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/24/arts/design/matthew-wong-karma-gallery.html|access-date=2020-06-06|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2021-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203032454/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/24/arts/design/matthew-wong-karma-gallery.html|url-status=live}}

Biography

Wong was born in Toronto in 1984.{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/obituaries/matthew-wong-dead.html|title = Matthew Wong, Painter on Cusp of Fame, Dies at 35|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 2019-10-21|last1 = Genzlinger|first1 = Neil|access-date = 2019-10-22|archive-date = 2019-10-23|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191023023218/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/obituaries/matthew-wong-dead.html|url-status = live}} His family emigrated to Hong Kong when he was seven. When he was fifteen, his family returned to Canada, in part to support the treatment of Wong's autism.{{Cite web | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-autistic-artist-remembered-for-achieving-improbable-territory-1.5315368 | title=Edmonton autistic artist remembered for achieving 'improbable territory' | CBC News}} Wong then attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, completing a degree in cultural anthropology in 2007. He returned to Hong Kong the same year. In 2010 he enrolled at the City University of Hong Kong School of Creative Media, receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree in photography in 2012.{{cite news |title=Matthew Woncg (1984–2019) |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/matthew-wong-1984-2019-80977 |accessdate=7 October 2019 |work=ArtForum |date=7 October 2019 |archive-date=7 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007215418/https://www.artforum.com/news/matthew-wong-1984-2019-80977 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|last=Wong|first=Miss|date=2014-10-29|title=They are artists: Matthew Wong|url=https://altermodernists.com/2014/10/29/artist-matthewwong/|access-date=2021-05-02|language=en|archive-date=2021-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203032431/https://altermodernists.com/2014/10/29/artist-matthewwong/|url-status=live}}

Wong had Tourette syndrome and suffered from depression throughout his adult life. He died by suicide in 2019 at age 35 in Edmonton, Alberta.{{cite news |last1=Russeth |first1=Andrew |title=Matthew Wong, Whose Indelible Canvases Charted New Paths for Landscape Painting, Is Dead at 35 |url=http://www.artnews.com/2019/10/06/matthew-wong-painter-dead/ |accessdate=October 7, 2019 |work=ARTNews |date=October 6, 2019 |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007022826/http://www.artnews.com/2019/10/06/matthew-wong-painter-dead/ |url-status=live }}

Art career

Wong's creative work began with experiments with photography in 2009 and continued during his time as a student of photography at City University in Hong Kong. Unsatisfied with the idea of becoming a photographer, in 2014 Wong told Neoteric Magazine that "towards the end of my degree I felt I had gained no real skills or prospects that could take me forward in the professional world."{{Cite web|title=NeotericArt|url=https://www.jasminedirectory.com/art/detail,1960003838,neotericart.html|access-date=2020-06-06|website=www.jasminedirectory.com|archive-date=2020-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626065808/https://www.jasminedirectory.com/art/detail,1960003838,neotericart.html|url-status=live}} In 2012 he began experimenting with drawing. He began painting landscapes in 2014.{{cite news |last1=Freeman |first1=Nate |title=The Art World Remembers Matthew Wong, Self-Taught Painter of Vibrant Landscapes, Who Has Died at 35 |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-world-remembers-matthew-wong-self-taught-painter-vibrant-landscapes-died-35-1671937 |accessdate=7 October 2019 |work=Artnet News |date=7 October 2019 |archive-date=7 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007231048/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-world-remembers-matthew-wong-self-taught-painter-vibrant-landscapes-died-35-1671937 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Remembering Matthew Wong Through His Dreamy, Otherworldly Landscapes |url=http://www.artnews.com/2019/10/07/matthew-wong-paintings/ |accessdate=7 October 2019 |work=ArtNews |date=7 October 2019}}

In 2016 he returned to Canada, settling in Edmonton. Wong posted his paintings to Facebook and attracted the attention of Matthew Higgs, curator and director of White Columns Gallery. Wong attained his first institutional recognition when the Dallas Museum of Art acquired his work, The West, in 2017. The DMA was the only museum to acquire a painting by Wong during his lifetime.{{Cite web |last=Solomon |first=Tessa |date=2022-02-24 |title=Matthew Wong's Luminous Landscapes Will Have First U.S. Museum Retrospective in Dallas |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/matthew-wong-retrospective-dallas-museum-of-art-1234619812/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}} Wong went on to exhibit at galleries in New York and Hong Kong. Critic Jerry Saltz called Wong's 2018 solo exhibition at Karma Gallery “one of the most impressive solo New York debuts I’ve seen in a while.”

Due to their scarcity in the open market, Wong's works have attracted interest on the auction market. His Edmonton studio remains untouched.{{cite news |title=Matthew Wong's Life in Light and Shadow |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/16/matthew-wongs-life-in-light-and-shadow |accessdate=10 May 2022 |work=New Yorker |date=9 May 2022 |archive-date=9 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509172346/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/16/matthew-wongs-life-in-light-and-shadow |url-status=live }}

Solo exhibitions and retrospectives

2024 Matthew Wong | Vincent van Gogh: Painting as a Last Resort, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam{{Cite web |title=Matthew Wong {{!}} Vincent van Gogh: Painting as a Last Resort |url=https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/visit/whats-on/exhibitions/matthew-wong-vincent-van-gogh |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam |language=en |archive-date=2024-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429003827/https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/visit/whats-on/exhibitions/matthew-wong-vincent-van-gogh |url-status=live }}
2023 The Realm of Appearances, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston{{Cite web |title=Matthew Wong: The Realm of Appearances |url=https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/matthew-wong-the-realm-of-appearances |access-date=2023-07-31 |website=Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |language=en |archive-date=2023-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731150752/https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/matthew-wong-the-realm-of-appearances |url-status=live }}
2022 The Realm of Appearances, Dallas Museum of Art{{Cite web |title=Matthew Wong: The Realm of Appearances |url=https://matthewwong.dma.org/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=matthewwong.dma.org |language=en |archive-date=2024-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530050325/https://matthewwong.dma.org/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Matthew Wong: The Realm of Appearances |url=https://dma.org/art/exhibitions/matthew-wong-realm-appearances |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=Dallas Museum of Art |archive-date=2024-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530050331/https://dma.org/art/exhibitions/matthew-wong-realm-appearances |url-status=live }}
2021 Blue View, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto{{Cite web|last=Ritchie|first=Kevin|date=2021-08-04|title=Major show devoted to Caribbean history to open at AGO|url=https://nowtoronto.com/culture/major-show-devoted-to-caribbean-history-to-open-at-ago|access-date=2021-08-17|website=NOW Magazine|language=en|archive-date=2021-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817164440/https://nowtoronto.com/culture/major-show-devoted-to-caribbean-history-to-open-at-ago|url-status=live}}
2019 Blue, Karma, New York
2019 Day by Night, Massimo De Carlo, Hong Kong{{Cite web|date=2019-02-02|title=10 must-see art exhibitions in Hong Kong in February 2019|url=https://www.lifestyleasia.com/hk/culture/art-design/10-must-see-art-exhibitions-in-hong-kong-in-february-2019/|access-date=2020-06-06|website=Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001155401/https://www.lifestyleasia.com/hk/culture/art-design/10-must-see-art-exhibitions-in-hong-kong-in-february-2019/|url-status=live}}
2018 Karma, New York{{Cite web|date=2018-04-22|title=Matthew Wong's Hallucinatory Pilgrimages|url=https://hyperallergic.com/439090/matthew-wong-karma-2018/|access-date=2020-06-06|website=Hyperallergic|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418093534/https://hyperallergic.com/439090/matthew-wong-karma-2018/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Saltz|first=Jerry|date=2018-04-19|title=Losing Myself in the Paintings of Facebook-Educated Matthew Wong|url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/04/losing-myself-in-the-art-of-facebook-educated-matthew-wong.html|access-date=2020-06-06|website=Vulture|language=en-us|archive-date=2021-03-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322050913/https://www.vulture.com/2018/04/losing-myself-in-the-art-of-facebook-educated-matthew-wong.html|url-status=live}}
2018 galerie frank elbaz, Paris, France{{Cite web|title=Matthew Wong, Biography - galerie frank elbaz|url=https://www.galeriefrankelbaz.com/345/matthew-wong-biography-galerie-frank-elbaz|access-date=2020-06-06|website=www.galeriefrankelbaz.com|archive-date=2024-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714191240/https://www.galeriefrankelbaz.com/345/matthew-wong-biography-galerie-frank-elbaz|url-status=live}}
2015 Pulse of the Land, Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre, Hong Kong{{Cite web | url=https://artasiapacific.com/news/obituary-matthew-wong-1984-2019 | title=ArtAsiaPacific: Obituary Matthew Wong 1984 2019 | access-date=2024-07-12 | archive-date=2023-12-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206212614/https://artasiapacific.com/news/obituary-matthew-wong-1984-2019 | url-status=live }}

Collections

His work is included in public collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art,{{Cite web|title=Garden with Cosmic Vase 2016 Matthew Wong|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/848317|access-date=2021-01-29|website=www.metmuseum.org|archive-date=2021-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208175407/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/848317|url-status=live}} the Museum of Modern Art, New York,{{Cite web|title=Matthew Wong. Unknown Pleasures. 2019 {{!}} MoMA|url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/417640|access-date=2021-01-29|website=The Museum of Modern Art|language=en}} the Dallas Museum of Art,{{Cite web | url=https://collections.dma.org/artwork/5346544 | title=The West - DMA Collection Online | access-date=2019-10-22 | archive-date=2019-10-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022005957/https://collections.dma.org/artwork/5346544 | url-status=live }} the Aishti Foundation and the Estée Lauder Collection.{{Cite web|title=Matthew Wong|url=https://karmakarma.org/artists/matthew-wong/bio/|access-date=2020-06-06|website=Karma|language=en|archive-date=2020-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225030359/https://karmakarma.org/artists/matthew-wong/bio/|url-status=live}}

Record sale prices

In 2020, a small watercolor on paper simply called Untitled was sold for four times its original estimate price after attracting a number of bids.{{Cite web|date=2020-05-15|title=Sotheby's Online Contemporary Sale Fetches $13.7 Million—More Than Doubling the Previous Record for a Virtual Art Sale, Set Three Weeks Ago|url=https://news.artnet.com/market/sothebys-online-contemporary-sale-record-1862865|access-date=2020-06-06|website=artnet News|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606102255/https://news.artnet.com/market/sothebys-online-contemporary-sale-record-1862865|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Gleadell|first=Colin|date=2020-05-15|title=Inside the record-shattering online bidding war between Frieze and Sotheby's|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/art/inside-record-shattering-online-bidding-war-frieze-sothebys/|access-date=2020-06-06|issn=0307-1235|archive-date=2024-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714191240/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/art/inside-record-shattering-online-bidding-war-frieze-sothebys/|url-status=live}} His first large painting available in an auction, The Realm of Appearances, was sold in July 2020 for US$1.82 million, twenty times its original estimate.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Matthew Wong {{!}} The Realm of Appearances|url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/contemporary-art-evening-auction/matthew-wong-the-realm-of-appearances|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714191312/https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/contemporary-art-evening-auction/matthew-wong-the-realm-of-appearances|archive-date=2024-07-14|access-date=|website=Sotheby's|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2020-07-02|title=A rising star before he died, Matthew Wong's art is fetching millions|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3091534/canadian-artists-work-setting-sale-records-after-his-death|access-date=2020-08-03|website=South China Morning Post|language=en|archive-date=2020-08-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804063154/https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3091534/canadian-artists-work-setting-sale-records-after-his-death|url-status=live}} In December 2020, a painting called River at Dusk was sold for $4.86M, four times its original estimate.{{Cite web|title=Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara Dominates Hong Kong Joint Auction {{!}} Auctions News {{!}} THE VALUE {{!}} Art News|url=https://en.thevalue.com/articles/phillips-poly-auction-hong-kong-modern-contemporary-art-evening-sale|access-date=2020-12-04|website=TheValue.com|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205215756/https://en.thevalue.com/articles/phillips-poly-auction-hong-kong-modern-contemporary-art-evening-sale|url-status=live}}