The Mystical Mindscapes of Matthew Wong

Morning Landscape by Matthew Wong

I discovered and fell in love with Matthew Wong’s paintings on October 2, 2019—the day he died, too soon, at the age 35. His work defies description for his influences were many: Van Gogh, Matisse, Munch, Fauvism, and Asian landscape paintings.

But his vision is uniquely his own, a lush surreal mysticism, bursting with color and yet so richly complex that at first glance I missed some of the small mysterious elements hidden within. Like the tiny figure and wishing well in the one below.

The Realm of Appearances by Matthew Wong

On discovering his work, I felt much as New York Times critic Roberta Smith wrote: “Mr. Wong made some of the most irresistible paintings I’ve ever encountered. I fell for the patchworks of color and stippled patterns of his landscapes . . . It was a visceral experience, like falling for an unforgettable song on first listen. It was deeply nourishing: my life had been improved and I know other people who have had the same reaction. Such relatively unalloyed pleasure is almost as essential as food.”

It’s the kind of painting that wakes me up and slows me down at the same time. My eye wants drink in all the color, meander through the network of brushstrokes, and cup with care each delicate detail and precious artifact I come across in my exploration.

The one below is one of my favorites, “Night Watcher.” Perhaps because it reminds me of those Asian landscapes by Zen masters. I love the texture and warmth of that succulent sun, the busy simplicity of the trees and leaves, the clarity of the wide white path, and the brightness of that solitary traveler with his sturdy staff.

It conjures for me a sense of elated expectation, as if we, the viewer, are journeying with a trusted confident toward some distant revelation.

The Night Watcher by Matthew Wong

Wong was a self-taught artist who struggled with Tourette’s Syndrome and depression. Some of his moodier and bluer paintings express that darker vision. But what I find most compelling are the joyful, mysterious, and mystical aspects of his artwork.

Even his blue “Starry Night” below, painted during his final year of life, strikes me more as revealing a mystical beauty and awe than the melancholy others see.

There’s a hushed stillness, a drowsy dreaminess, for sure—yet the twinkles in the sky and sea, the waving clouds or plumes of smoke like petals unfurling, the roundness of his mountains and shoreline all elicit for me a sense of reverence, awe. Like a soft, comforting blanket of sleep. Perhaps in that is a premonition of that final sleep toward which we all drift. But I feel solace, not sadness, in his depiction.

Starry Night by Matthew Wong, 2019

The painting below, “See You on the Other Side,” may have been prophetic of his early passing.

See You on the Other Side by Matthew Wong

A small figure gazes longingly across a pristine chasm at what appears to be a a small home waiting on the other side. The lush green hillside cascading toward it and the rich blue mountains and mosaic sky make it seem like an inviting, comforting place. An exotic red bird, wings spread, looks on, as if poised to fly him home.

The whole scene strikes me as contemplative, a peaceful yearning or expectancy. We are enveloped in stillness—like a pregnant pause or inhaled breath—before something momentous takes place.

It’s tragic to lose one so gifted so early. But something of Wong’s essence survives in his artwork, and continues to excite and inspire. Perhaps inviting us to look more deeply into our own lush mindscapes to find what’s hidden within.

If you enjoyed this, you may like these posts too.

---