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“Mr. Wong made some of the most irresistible paintings I’ve ever encountered…It was a visceral experience, like falling for an unforgettable song on first listen.”
— Roberta SmithHypnotic and riveting, Far Away Eyes by Matthew Wong captures the chromatic vibrance, compositional complexity, and emotional depth that characterises the artist’s unique painterly sensitivity. A lone figure, cloaked in gold, stands beneath a single tree, quietly contemplating a sweeping glittering vista of mountain and sky. Slightly off-centre, the solitary tree is imbued with a poignant anthropomorphic quality, its trunk leaning towards a setting sun. The landscape is bathed in incandescent Fauvist hues, while the flattened perspective defies laws of gravity and space, drawing viewers into the depths of memory, imagination, and longing.
Intermixing Western and Eastern art historical influences, Wong developed a singular aesthetic that has redefined the genre of landscape, winning the praise of the esteemed The New York Times critic Roberta Smith, who declared him ‘one of the most talented painters of his generation.’i Evoking the scintillating scenes of Gustav Klimt, the expressionist power of Edvard Munch, the dream-like serenity of Peter Doig, as well as the minimalistic poise of traditional Chinese scrolls, Far Away Eyes evokes notions of introspection, meditation, and the search for meaning. It serves as an exquisite example of Wong’s mission and visual language and a moving testament to his uniquely delicate mind.
Vincent van Gogh, Olive Trees with Yellow Sky and Sun, 1889
Collection of the Minneapolis Institute of ArtThe Self-Taught Genius
Wong began painting in 2013 at the age of 29, using his local library and the internet as tools for self-education. A self-proclaimed ’omnivore for sights, sounds, and ideas,’ii Wong was inspired by everything from his daily visual experiences to the vast canon of the history of art, absorbing information fervently with a highly intellectual mind and an insatiable creative appetite. Over a short period of time, Wong developed his own astonishing visual lexicon – one that conjured a profound mélange of modernist influences, from Georges Seurat’s Pointillist dabs to Vincent van Gogh’s tactile strokes, and from the vivid colours of Fauvism to the evocative hues of Symbolism. As Eric Sutphin observed, ‘Wong can be considered a kind of nouveau Nabi, a descendant of Post-Impressionist painters like Édouard Vuillard and Paul Sérusier. Like his forebears, he synthesises stylised representations, bright colours, and mystical themes to create rich, evocative scenes. His works, despite their ebullient palette, are frequently tinged with a melancholic yearning.’iii
Paul Cezanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, circe 1895
Collection of the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia“I’ll often have quick flashes of imagery appear in and out of my thoughts, they could be shaped or triggered by something I saw or heard out in the world, an artwork I have seen...Going by intuition and my emotions I will then head to the studio and set out to elaborate in paint these vague glimpses I get....simply trusting my instinct and the flow from hand to surface.”
— Matthew Wong
Gustav Klimt, Birch Forest, 1903
Collection of the Belvedere, ViennaThe Journey Inwards
In his singular reinvigoration of the genre of landscape, Wong inwardly channels memory, imagination, and intuition. He stated: ‘One mark responds to another, colours start piling up, getting scraped away, and built up again, and so on and so forth, and somewhere along the line I always reach a certain point where I can intuitively sense the general shape and structure of the image I need to work towards.’iv He further explained: ‘None of the works are planned in advance, but rather worked out through an intuitive engagement with the pigment and surface. Therefore, my work can be seen as an existential meditation on the act of painting, painting as a marker of time.’v His chosen motifs of atmospheric landscapes and evocative scenes were, in his words, ‘a good starting point for me to establish my visual vocabulary and also have a dialogue with the paintings of the past and present that I admire and learn from looking at.’vi
“The figures, which disturb the landscape, can be read as surrogates for the artist working his way through the landscape of art; he is both embedded in the paint and having a dialog with it.”
— John Yau
Georges Seurat, Morgenspaziergang (Die Seine bei Courbevoie), 1885
Collection of the National Gallery, LondonThe Golden Pilgrim
At the core of Wong’s oeuvre is the small figure embedded within his sprawling luminous landscapes. These solitary pilgrims anchor his canvases, serving as a link between exterior landscape and psychological interiority, and a way for viewers to access the endless expanse of the unconscious. The artist has said: ‘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.’vii Radiant and exquisitely mesmerising, Far Away Eyes nevertheless carries within it a silent meditative weight, its bewitching scenery a vehicle to transport viewers into an otherworldly realm cut off from the noise, and often struggles, of reality.
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 Roberta Smith, ‘A Final Rhapsody in Blue From Matthew Wong’, The New York Times, December 27, 2019, online
ii Matthew Wong, quoted in Maria Vogel, ‘Matthew Wong Reflects on the Melancholy of Life’, Art of Choice, November 15, 2018, online
iii Eric Sutphin, ‘Matthew Wong’, Art in America, June 1, 2018, online
iv Matthew Wong, quoted in Valerie Brennan, ‘Matthew Wong’, Studio Critical, November 4, 2013, online
v Matthew Wong, quoted in Elaine Wong, ‘They Are Artists: Matthew Wong’, Altermodernists, October 29, 2014, online
vi Matthew Wong, quoted in Valerie Brennan, ‘Matthew Wong’, Studio Critical, November 4, 2013, online
vii Matthew Wong, quoted in Maria Vogel, ‘Matthew Wong Reflects on the Melancholy of Life’, Art of Choice, November 15, 2018, online
Provenance
Private Collection
Fair Warning, Online, 27 August 2020
Acquired at the above sale 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.
✱15
Far Away Eyes
signed, titled and dated '"FAR AWAY EYES" Wong 2017 [in Chinese]' on the reverse
oil on canvas
66 x 147.5 cm. (25 7/8 x 58 1/8 in.)
Painted in 2017.
Estimate
HK$8,000,000 - 12,000,000
€906,000-1,360,000
$1,030,000-1,540,000
Sold for HK$21,183,000
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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