Matthew Wong - Vincent Van Gogh: Painting as a Last Resort

Shortly before his early death, Canadian artist Matthew Wong (1984-2019) emerged as a phenomenon. He started drawing and painting in 2011, at the age of twenty-seven, and within the space of just a few years had developed a highly personal style using intense colors to paint imaginative landscapes.

Wong’s expressively lyrical works were inspired by both traditional Chinese painting and Western art. He was especially influenced by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), not only in terms of his painting style and choice of motifs, but also in some aspects of his life. Both artists were self-taught, and both faced mental health issues. Wong saw his own life reflected in that of Van Gogh, and once said: ＂I see myself in him. The impossibility of belonging in this world.＂

Published to accompany an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Matthew Wong-Vincent van Gogh explores the artistic and personal connection between the two artists, bringing around forty-five paintings and drawings by Wong into dialogue with a group of Van Gogh masterpieces. Kenny Schachter, who knew Wong, contributes a personal introduction, which is followed by essays exploring the artists’ biographical and artistic kinship.