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“I would like my paintings to have something in them people across the spectrum can find things they identify with. I do believe that there is an inherent loneliness or melancholy to much of contemporary life, and on a broader level I feel my work speaks to this quality in addition to being a reflection of my thoughts, fascinations and impulses.”
— Matthew WongNature’s Church mesmerises in a symphony of texture and colour, conjuring a dreamlike landscape of curling trees, speckled flora, and cobalt-blue water within which auspicious koi fish swim. In the upper right corner two small figures climb towards the twilight-lit pond, their solitary presence within the clearing sparking the curiosity of a graceful swan who approaches to greet them. Rendered in thick staccato impasto harmonising an explosion of dabs, dots, wiggles, and lines that dance and flicker across the entirety of the surface, the work glows with the rhythm of Wong’s brush, conjuring the viewer into a lullaby of poetic nostalgia, and serene melancholy. Painted within the final years of Matthew Wong’s prolific yet short-lived years, Nature’s Church is a superlative example from the artist’s limited oeuvre.
Detail of the present workWong’s Painterly Journey
“Mr. Wong made some of the most irresistible paintings I’ve ever encountered. I fell for the patchworks of colour and stippled patterns of his landscapes.”
— Roberta SmithWong was born in Toronto in 1984, however with his parents who were involved in the textile business, moved between Canada and Hong Kong every few years before eventually relocating to Hong Kong following his graduation from the University of Michigan in 2007 with a degree in Cultural Anthropology. Three years later Wong earned a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the City University of Hong Kong, however it was not until 2012 that he pursued his creative interests more seriously. As Wong recalled, ‘at first I just bought a cheap sketch pad along with a bottle of ink and made a mess every day in my bathroom randomly pouring ink onto pages—smashing them together—hoping something interesting was going to come out of it… Pretty soon that was the only activity that sustained me in my daily routine.’ i
Wong’s relationship with art became ‘all-encompassing’ i, as when he was not drawing or painting, he was at the Hong Kong Public Library, ‘writing poetry and pouring over art books’ ii, ‘figuring out where [he could] fit into the greater dialogue between artists throughout time.’ i Though never an official student of art history, he developed a remarkable mental database of artists and artworks he admired, added to by his endless scrolling through the digital pages of Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr, and from immersing himself in online conversations with other creatives. Painting from the soul with none of his compositions planned in advance, Wong began to seamlessly intermix Western and Eastern art historical influences into his practice, forming a singular, instantly identifiable aesthetic that prompted The New York Times critic Roberta Smith to dub him as ‘one of the most talented painters of his generation.’ iiiA Dialogue with Art History
Left: Vincent van Gogh, Starry Night over the Rhone, 1888
Collection of Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Right: James Abbot McNeill Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold, The Falling Rocket, 1875
Collection of Detroit Institute of Arts, USAMost often critically associated to the art and life of Vincent van Gogh, Wong’s Nature’s Church indeed brings to mind the starry skies and swirling, tactile brushstrokes of his predecessor - in particular, van Gogh’s night paintings created during the final two years of his life which, in a letter to his brother Theo, van Gogh described as being ‘much more alive and richly coloured than the day.’ A belief also held by James Abott McNeill Whistler, as exemplified by his twilight nocturne paintings, Wong too, evokes the celestial quietude of night in the present work. Night-time, for Wong, was a key time to explore the depths of his mind as ‘following the natural path of [his] imagination or watching films in the dark of [his] living room [was] an activity… [he] pursue[d] every night without fail’, explaining ‘it’s inevitable the solitary nature of this pattern seeps into and informs his work.’iv
Gustav Klimt, Avenue in the Park of Schloss Kammer, 1912
Collection of Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, ViennaAt the same time, whilst the dreamlike vista populated with swaying birch trees in Nature’s Church further evokes the jewel-toned, luscious scenes of Gustav Klimt—whose kaleidoscopic landscapes dazzle the viewer with reduced spatial depth—Wong’s meticulous, repetitive technique can be considered in regard to the masters of Pointillism, including Henri-Edmond Cross, Georges Seurat, or perhaps more recently, Jennifer Guidi and the hallucinatory infinity nets of Yayoi Kusama (see for example, Lot 25 – Yayoi Kusama, INFINITY-NETS (OPRT) (2004)). But although countless influences can be observed in Nature’s Church and Wong’s wider oeuvre, he melds them with his own meditative ponderings to form a visual language entirely his own.
Left: Henri-Edmond Cross, Kap Layet, 1904
Right: Yayoi Kusama, INFINITY-NETS (OPRT), 2004
Lot 25 – Phillips Hong Kong in Association with Poly Auction Evening Sale
Estimate HK$ 15,000,000 - 25,000,000 / US$ 1,920,000 - 3,210,000
© Yayoi Kusama
Nature’s Church
The miniature wanderers are a recuring motif in Wong’s oeuvre, coming and going through the various serpentine paths and gold-flecked meadows that shape the artist’s imaginative dreamscapes, never appearing to quite reach their final destination. Often referred to as ‘pilgrims’ in the titles of similar paintings by Wong that feature kindred figures, the purity of the radiant white outlines of the pair in Nature’s Church indeed accentuate a divine, transcendent quality that is further enhanced by the religious connotations evoked by the work’s title—and by the shimmering, vibrant details reminiscent of the back-lit stained-glass windows prominently displayed in churches.
The north rose window of the Chartres Cathedral, France
A rarer example of Wong’s paintings which more commonly depict a lone figure, or none at all, in Nature’s Church there are two ‘pilgrims’ enveloped by the dazzling night-time forest scene. And whilst they are still alone in this portrayal of Wong’s expansive, nocturnal universe, they journey on together, following after one another as they travel up the winding path toward the top edge.
"I already possess the superpower I wanted – the ability to paint."
— Matthew Wong
Collector’s Digest
With a rise to stardom so rapid, it is widely considered as one of the most remarkable of the past half century, Wong’s work has been honoured with inclusion in notable public collections wordwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Dallas Museum of Art; Estée Lauder Collection, New York; and the Aïshti Foundation, Beirut.
Continuing the momentum around the artist’s acclaim, the Art Gallery of Ontario is currently hosting the first museum exhibition dedicated to the painter, Matthew Wong: Blue View, which opened on 13 August 2021 and closes on 18 April 2022. This will be followed by the forthcoming retrospective, Matthew Wong, at the Dallas Museum of Art in 2022.
In December 2020 when Phillips Hong Kong in Association with Poly auction sold Wong’s painting River at Dusk (2018), it far exceeded its pre-sale estimate range of HK$7,000,000 – 10,000,000, hammering down at HK$37,760,000 plus Premium, establishing the artist’s current world record. More recently in June 2021, Wong’s work Figure in a Night Landscape (2017) was sold by Phillips Hong Kong in association with Poly Auction for HK$36,550,000 against estimates of HK$6,000,000 – 8,000,000, landing Wong’s second top record at auction.
Left: Matthew Wong's 1st top auction result, River at Dusk, 2018
Sold by Phillips Hong Kong in Association with Poly Auction on 3 December 2020 for HK$37,760,000
© 2021 Matthew Wong Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Right: Matthew Wong's 2nd top auction result, Figure in a Night Landscape, 2017
Sold by Phillips Hong Kong in Association with Poly Auction on 3 December 2020 for HK$36,550,000
© 2021 Matthew Wong Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New Yorki Matthew Wong, quoted in Miss Wong, ‘They are artists: Matthew Wong’, Altermodernists, 29 October 2014, online
ii Matthew Wong, ‘Matthew Wong: A behind the scenes approach to contemporary painting’, Studio Critical, 4 November 2013, online
iii Roberta Smith, ‘A Final Rhapsody in Blue From Matthew Wong’, The New York Times, 27 December 2019, online
iv Matthew Wong, quote in Maria Vogel, ‘Matthew Wong reflects on the melancholy of life’, Art of Choice, 15 November 2018, onlineProvenance
KARMA, New York
Private Collection, New York
Acquired from the above by the present ownerArtist Biography
Matthew Wong
Matthew Wong was a Canadian artist who enjoyed growing acclaim for his lush, dreamlike scenes that play on a rich tradition of art historical precedents. His work depicts the vivid but often melancholy terrain between sleep and wakefulness, lonely landscapes and isolated interiors rendered with a carefree hand and an ebullient palette, yet which contain an ineffable sorrow and a palpable but unnamed longing.
Wong spent his childhood between cultures: he was born in Toronto, Canada and at age 7 moved with his family to Hong Kong where he lived until he was 15, at which time the family returned to Canada. Wong began to experiment artistically already well into his adulthood, first with photography, which he pursued at the postgraduate level at the City University of Hong Kong, and then with painting. A self-taught painter, Wong developed his aptitude for the medium by immersing himself in online conversations with other artists and dedicated personal study of the history of art. His paintings attracted almost immediate attention, but Wong tragically passed away in 2019 just as his work was beginning to receive widespread critical praise.
Property from an Important Collection
14
Nature’s Church
signed, titled and dated '"NATURE'S CHURCH" Wong 2017 [in Chinese]' on the reverse
oil on canvas
91.4 x 61 cm. (35 7/8 x 24 in.)
Painted in 2017.
Estimate
HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
€453,000-680,000
$513,000-769,000
Sold for HK$9,204,000
Charlotte Raybaud
Head of Evening Sale, 20th Century & Contemporary Art
+852 2318 2026
CharlotteRaybaud@phillips.com
20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in Association with Poly Auction
Hong Kong Auction 30 November 2021
1
Cinga Samson
Ivory V
Estimate HK$250,000 - 350,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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2
Salman Toor
East Village Iqbal Bano
Estimate HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
Sold for HK$4,536,000
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3
Nina Chanel Abney
Untitled (IXI Black)
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$3,024,000
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4
Jamian Juliano-Villani
Clear Cough from Your Schedule
Estimate HK$200,000 - 400,000
Sold for HK$781,200
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5
Mr.
Yume—Breath of the Earth
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$4,032,000
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6
Julie Curtiss
Escargot
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$1,449,000
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7
Javier Calleja
30 works: Untitled
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$12,108,000
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8
Javier Calleja
You Me
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 4,000,000
Sold for HK$7,026,000
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9
Aya Takano
In the Lab (the Birth of Jelly)
Estimate HK$200,000 - 300,000
Sold for HK$441,000
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10
Hernan Bas
Minimalism (cracking the code)
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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11
Joel Mesler
Untitled (Night Out)
Estimate HK$500,000 - 700,000
Sold for HK$1,512,000
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12
Shara Hughes
Magic Island
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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13
Scott Kahn
Cadman Plaza
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$7,510,000
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14
Matthew Wong
Nature’s Church
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$9,204,000
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15
Matthew Wong
Far Away Eyes
Estimate HK$8,000,000 - 12,000,000
Sold for HK$21,183,000
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16
Gerhard Richter
Kerzenschein (Candle-light)
Estimate HK$55,000,000 - 75,000,000
Sold for HK$101,970,000
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17
This lot is no longer available.
18
Yayoi Kusama
INFINITY-NETS (OPRT)
Estimate HK$15,000,000 - 25,000,000
Sold for HK$22,635,000
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19
Yayoi Kusama
Repetition
Estimate HK$15,000,000 - 20,000,000
Sold for HK$19,005,000
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20
Nicolas Party
Still Life
Estimate HK$6,200,000 - 9,400,000
Sold for HK$17,190,000
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21
David Hockney
Bridlington Violets
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$12,350,000
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22
Léonard-Tsuguharu Foujita
Self-Portrait with a Cat
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$5,292,000
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23
This lot is no longer available.
24
Sanyu
Paysage Aux Hirondelles
Estimate HK$26,000,000 - 46,000,000
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25
Zao Wou-Ki
Sans titre ("Notre Dame")
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$10,051,000
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26
Zao Wou-Ki
Brume d’automne
Estimate HK$4,500,000 - 7,500,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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27
Auguste Rodin
Le Baiser, 1ère réduction dite aussi "réduction n°1"
Estimate HK$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$11,745,000
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28
Zao Wou-Ki
20.3.64.
Estimate HK$20,000,000 - 30,000,000
Sold for HK$22,030,000
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29
This lot is no longer available.
30
Alexander Calder
Two Red Petals in the Air
Estimate HK$16,000,000 - 20,000,000
Sold for HK$20,820,000
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31
Claude Monet
Pavots dans un vase de Chine
Estimate HK$9,500,000 - 15,000,000
Sold for HK$13,560,000
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32
Georges Mathieu
Saxifrage
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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33
This lot is no longer available.
34
Huang Yuxing
Floating Bubbles
Estimate HK$1,800,000 - 2,800,000
Sold for HK$2,772,000
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35
Zhou Chunya
Smell the Flowers
Estimate HK$5,000,000 - 7,000,000
Sold for HK$6,905,000
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36
This lot is no longer available.
37
Liu Ye
Flagship No. 2
Estimate HK$2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for HK$5,922,000
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38
Wang Xingwei
Untitled (Heart-Shaped Dance)
Estimate HK$2,800,000 - 4,800,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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39
Liu Ye
Untitled
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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40
Liu Wei
You Like Smoking?
Estimate HK$3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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41
Izumi Kato
Untitled
Estimate HK$4,500,000 - 7,500,000
Sold for HK$11,745,000
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42
Yoshitomo Nara
Pandora's Box
Estimate HK$7,500,000 - 10,000,000
Sold for HK$13,560,000
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43
George Condo
The Dreamer
Estimate HK$4,600,000 - 6,200,000
Sold for HK$11,140,000
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44
George Condo
Entangled Figures
Estimate HK$6,200,000 - 9,200,000
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45
This lot is no longer available.
46
KAWS
NEW YORK
Estimate HK$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Sold for HK$5,040,000
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47
KAWS
FINAL DAYS
Estimate HK$6,200,000 - 8,200,000
Sold for HK$8,115,000
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48
Raymond Pettibon
Untitled (Force makes nature...)
Estimate HK$1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for HK$3,906,000
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49
Robert Nava
Angel Shark
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 1,800,000
Sold for HK$4,410,000
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50
Susumu Kamijo
Marching To The Sun
Estimate HK$450,000 - 650,000
Sold for HK$2,142,000
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51
Jadé Fadojutimi
Fishing For Steps
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 2,200,000
Sold for HK$4,788,000
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52
Mickalene Thomas
Looking Up from the She Works Hard For the Money Pin-Up series
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 2,000,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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53
Billie Zangewa
Cirque d'hiver
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$567,000
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54
Godwin Champs Namuyimba
The Connector
Estimate HK$200,000 - 400,000
Sold for HK$1,323,000
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55
Tunji Adeniyi-Jones
Blue Ancestor
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$1,071,000
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56
Tomoo Gokita
Final Confrontation
Estimate HK$1,200,000 - 2,200,000
Sold for HK$2,520,000
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57
Ewa Juszkiewicz
Appropriation
Estimate HK$400,000 - 600,000
Sold for HK$1,890,000
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58
Lucas Arruda
Untitled from the series Deserto-Modelo
Estimate HK$1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for HK$3,780,000
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