Last refuge art

Editor Ilir Pinto

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The works of Matthew Wong and Vincent van Gogh come together at the Kunsthaus Zürich. Two artists who found refuge in painting and revealed their inner struggles in it.

Based on real observations, Vincent van Gogh mainly painted landscapes and portraits. Matthew Wong was quite different: the Canadian often incorporated surrealist and symbolic elements into his paintings. Despite their different approaches and stylistic differences, the two artists have a few things in common: they both started painting at the age of 27, their works often bore witness to inner conflicts and they both took their own lives in their mid-30s.

Van Gogh suffered from severe mental illness throughout his life, which manifested itself in deep depression and impulsive behaviour, among other things. Matthew Wong had a similarly tragic battle with his psyche: he suffered from depression, autism, chronic pain and Tourette's syndrome.

What set him apart from Van Gogh was that Wong achieved great recognition in the art world during his lifetime. However, he did not live to see his paintings presented side by side with those of the great master: The Kunsthaus Zürich is exhibiting works by the two painters to show the artistic and biographical parallels between them, who were both characterised by a dynamic and colour-intensive style of painting.

Vincent van Gogh mostly painted realistic landscapes and portraits, such as

Some of Vincent van Gogh's paintings contain a lot of movement, and this work is one of them:

Despite his inner turmoil, Matthew Wong's paintings often convey a mystical calm, such as

Matthew Wong's paintings often convey a feeling of pensiveness and melancholy, such as

Caption: Click on photos

The painting "A Dream" (Image 1) by Matthew Wong stands out in particular. It shows a path lined with dark trees and bushes that leads to a light-flooded shore. The evening sun is reflected in the glistening water. The oil painting evokes a sense of longing: In the gloom, sublimity beckons from afar. The bluish tones of the woodland, which gently winds and stretches upwards, make the picture seem surreal. Matthew Wong painted it in 2019 and died in the same year.

The bold colours and wave-like vibrations are somewhat reminiscent of works by Vincent van Gogh. His "Starry Night" (1889) is world-famous. The eponymous work "Starry Night" by Matthew Wong is a homage to it, as confirmed at the exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zürich (van Gogh's original hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, however).

Wong's version is different: like many of his paintings, it is calm and contemplative. It shows an idyllic landscape with a dark lake reflecting a cluster of stars. Painting seems to have been a means by which Matthew Wong found peace in the midst of his inner struggles and inner turmoil.

"Matthew Wong - Vincent van Gogh: Last Refuge Painting": on display at Kunsthaus Zürich until 26 January 2025.

Matthew Wong, Coming of Age Landscape, 2018, Private collection, Courtesy of HomeArt, © 2023, ProLitteris, Zurich

Kunsthaus Zürich

Matthew Wong – Vincent van Gogh

Shortly before his death at a young age, the Canadian painter and draughtsman Matthew Wong (1984 Toronto – 2019 Edmonton) emerged as a phenomenon with his ...

Permanent exhibition