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"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 WongDubbed ‘one of the most talented painters of his generation’ by The New York Times, the late Chinese- Canadian artist Matthew Wong’s works have captivated audiences worldwide with his dreamlike landscapes and still lifes, often drawing comparisons to the works of Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Edvard Munch. River at Dusk is an enthralling work depicting a romantic river scene lined with lush foliage at golden hour. A large two metre composition executed a year before the artist’s untimely passing, the work offers an immersive experience into the contemplative wonderlands that exist in the artist’s imagination.
A Transition to Art
Born in Toronto, Wong spent his childhood growing up between Canada and Hong Kong. He then graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in cultural anthropology before moving back to Hong Kong. After flitting through several desk jobs, Wong eventually picked up a master’s degree in Photography at the School of Creative Media in the City University of Hong Kong. A self-taught artist, it was only in 2012 that Wong discovered art, which quickly became ‘all encompassing’, firstly with drawing, then eventually transitioning into oil on canvas. Thereon fervently educating himself through social media, Wong connected with people and absorbed knowledge through platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. As expected of a bona fide millennial, Wong even reached out to and consulted with curator and gallerist John Cheim on choices of oil paints through the digital platforms.
Wong’s Painterly Approach
Henri Edmond Cross, Valley with Fir (Shade on the Mountain), 1909. Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Painting mostly through instinct and from imagination, in a short span of a few years Wong created a visual vocabulary that was unrestricted by the confines of traditional fine art education. Calling to mind the Neo-Impressionist style that circled around Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, (See for example Henri Edmond Cross, Valley with Fir (Shade on the Mountain), 1909) Wong drew inspiration from the techniques and traditions of painting en plein air, manifesting scenes of nature from long walks around his studio in Edmonton and synthesising personal experiences with knowledge from masters of the past and present (see for example David Hockney, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven), 2011).
David Hockney, The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven), 2011. Courtesy of the artist © David Hockney River at Dusk presents a work of an artist who was exploring the tactility of paint and the infinite possibilities of colour harmony and contrasts. Wong pulls the brush across the canvas in thin and thick bands to create a flat graphic quality in the skies and river, but also captures the effects of natural light with varying lengths of brushstrokes, producing vibrant weaving patterns of different forms of greenery in short, pin-point strokes. Recreating the spontaneity and painterly approach of plein air painters with frenetic brushstrokes, in River at Dusk Wong animates the ethereal worlds in his mind, conveying the spiritual and ephemeral qualities of natural landscapes through loosely defined forms and unconcealed brushwork.
Emotional Sensitivity Depicted Through Colour
From the tangerine and plum shades in the skies to the indigo branches and juniper waters, Wong’s use of complementary colours is reminiscent of Vincent Van Gogh’s expressive palette, depicting an emotional sensitivity to colour and saturation that conveys serenity, and yet seems to glitter with the restlessness of life.
Vincent Van Gogh, Garden of the Asylum, 1889. Collection of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam Within the luminous fields of colour, the image also flows to a single point where the river meets a golden sky slowly descending into darkness. Amidst the vibrant colours of the landscape, the composition is tinged with waves of melancholy. Indicating the exact timing of the scene through its title, River at Dusk foreshadows its impending nightfall, creating a sense of inevitability and distress in the yearning to capture the last flickering moments of the day. This is perhaps an unconscious reflection of Wong’s state of mind. The artist was on the autism spectrum and struggled with Tourette’s syndrome and depression throughout his life. Coincidentally, in his life Vincent Van Gogh was also tortured with psychiatric illness, and even spent a year in a mental institution in Saint-Rémy-de- Provence. Painting the views of the gardens at the asylum (see for example Garden of the Asylum, 1889), in a letter to his friend Van Gogh described his working method in the depiction of his painting:
"The sky is reflected yellow in a puddle after the rain. A ray of sun — the last glimmer — exalts the dark ochre to orange — small dark figures prowl here and there between the trunks. You’ll understand that this combination of red ochre, of green saddened with grey, of black lines that define the outlines, this gives rise a little to the feeling of anxiety from which some of my companions in misfortune often suffer, and which is called ‘seeing red’." —Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh, Olive Trees, 1889. Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Taking a leaf out of art history, Wong’s fauvist palette in the work’s plum and orange skies, pairing the greens of the water with the reds in the trees similarly reflects this conscious use of opposing shades to intensify the emotional charge of his paintings. A work deeply rooted in the human experience, within the magical bucolic setting Wong’s composition channels undercurrents of loneliness and internal conflict. Tortured by his inner demons, Wong painted incessantly, using painting as a form of solace as tormented talents like Van Gogh did (even drawing examples with contemporary examples such as Yayoi Kusama, see for example Lot 9 INFINITY-NETS (QRTWE) (2007), and Lot 10 Fruits [EPSOB] (2011)). River at Dusk carries 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.
Matthew Wong, River at Night, 2018. Courtesy KARMA, New York Collector’s Digest
Wong’s two exhibitions in 2018 at KARMA in New York, and Galerie Frank Elbaz in Paris, as well as his posthumous exhibitions at KARMA in 2019 and 2020 were met with widespread critical acclaim in publications such as The New York Times and the New Yorker. An exhibition at the Aishti Foundation, Beirut in 2018, where the present work was also shown, and a solo show at Arch Athens in 2020 further testifies the strong interest in the boundless potential of an artist that lives on through his works.
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Provenance
Feature Inc., New York
Exhibited
Philadelphia, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, June 1-August 25, 2001
Literature
Guggenheim Museum, eds., Hugo Boss Prize, New York, 2000. p. 589 (illustrated); B. Hainley, D. Cooper and A. Searle, Tom Friedman, London, 2001, p. 53 (illustrated); G. Celant, ed., Tom Friedman, Milan, 2002, p. 306
Catalogue Essay
A striking quality of Tom Friedman's art is the degree to which it is highly personal; he uses his own image or experience as part of the work's concept and process. Self-portraits are a major part of the artist’s oeuvre, but always rendered in a startling manner using such unexpected materials such as Styrofoam, wood blocks, toothpicks, sugar cubes and aspirin. In Untitled, 1999, Friedman’s depiction of himself, constructed entirely of wood, paint, and wire, stands alone no larger than a thumbtack. The deliberately miniscule scale combined with the commonplace materials from which the sculpture is made, results in a visually remarkable achievement.
This self-portrait is a perfect example of Friedman’s anti-monumental approach to sculpture. By choosing to represent himself on such a small scale, Friedman not only calls into question the formal expectations of what a self-portrait is and what a sculpture is, but also how we as viewers might see ourselves. Friedman requires the viewers to become engaged in the experience of viewing the artist’s body as well as experiencing the scale of their own. Viewers find themselves adjusting their perceptual range to appreciate the artist's attentiveness to detail and remarkable ability to transform the familiar into the unexpected.
This process increases the possibility of his artistic pursuit—he constantly twists the mundane into surprising, curious and humorous situations.Artist Biography
Tom Friedman
American • 1965
Tom Friedman is a multimedia artist working mainly in sculpture and works-on-paper. Interested in looking at the thin line between fantasy and autobiography, Friedman often creates works that push viewers into a complicit state of witnessing. His sculptures are composed of a multitude of objects, and he assembles them in such a way as to transform the mundane into an intricate work of art. He combines materials such as Styrofoam, foil, paper, clay, wire, hair and fuzz through a labor-intensive practice that seeks to tell a story, whether about himself or the world at large.
Friedman's approach to autobiography is not memoiristic. Rather, he takes the smallest moments of his life, like a piece of paper found on the street, and blows it out of proportion.
3
Untitled
1999
Wood and paint with wire support.
Sculpture: 1/16 x 1/16 x 3/16 in. (.2 x .2 x .5 cm); installed: 84 1/16 x 1/16 x 3/16 in. (213.5 x .2 x .5 cm).
Estimate
£30,000 - 40,000 ‡
Sold for £34,800
Contemporary Art
14 Oct 2006, 7pm
London
1
Anselm Reyle
Untitled
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000 ♠
Sold for £31,200
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2
Paul Pfeiffer
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (11)
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000 ‡
Sold for £16,800
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3
Tom Friedman
Untitled
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ‡
Sold for £34,800
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4
Johannes Kahrs
Untitled
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ‡♠
Sold for £78,000
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5
Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec
"Honda" vase
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000 ♠
Sold for £18,000
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6
Rosemarie Trockel
Untitled (Homage to Bridget Riley)
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠
Sold for £108,000
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7
Ross Lovegrove
Prototype "Liquid Bench"
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ♠
Sold for £120,000
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8
Christopher Wool
Untitled (Riot)
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000
Sold for £198,400
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9
Marlene Dumas
Wrong Title
Estimate £180,000 - 250,000 ‡
Sold for £232,000
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10
Richard Prince
#7/ Just Married
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡
Sold for £220,800
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11
Franz West
Untitled
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ‡♠
Sold for £84,000
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12
Rudolf Stingel
Untitled
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ♠
Sold for £120,000
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13
Tokujin Yoshioka
"PANE" chair
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000 Ω
Sold for £15,600
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14
Huang Yong Ping
Le Jugement Dernier
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000
Sold for £60,000
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15
Damien Hirst
Biphenol
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡♠
Sold for £153,600
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16
Gilbert & George
Dick Seed (in 9 parts)
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠
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17
Tim Noble and Sue Webster
$
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 Ω♠
Sold for £187,200
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18
Daniel Richter
Rede an die Nation
Estimate £90,000 - 120,000 ♠
Sold for £187,200
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19
Wolfgang Tillmans
Eight works: (i) 69 Love Songs, 2000; (ii) Temelhof, 1992; (iii) Billie Ray Martin, 1999; (iv) Flowerhead, 2001; (v) Faltenwurf (Rot), 1996; (vi) Adam Head Down, 1991; (vii) London Barbican, 1996; (viii) Still Life Guuys Inn Road I, 1999
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ‡♠
Sold for £36,000
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20
Chen Zhen
Un Village sans frontiers
Estimate £30,000 - 50,000
Sold for £50,400
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21
Piotr Uklański
Dance floor
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ‡♠
Sold for £96,000
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22
Franz Ackermann
Transall Delivering a Piece of My Hometown
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000 ‡♠
Sold for £153,600
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23
Marc Newson
"Event Horizon" table
Estimate £160,000 - 180,000 ≠†
Sold for £176,000
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24
Fang Lijun
2002
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000
Sold for £478,400
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25
Elizabeth Peyton
Princes William and Harry September 1999
Estimate £300,000 - 400,000 ‡
Sold for £433,600
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26
Piotr Uklański
The Nazis
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000 ‡♠
Sold for £568,000
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27
Matthew Barney
Cremaster 2: The Queen's Exposition
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000 ‡
Sold for £108,000
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28
Karen Kilimnik
Barbe Dmitrievna Margassov, Madame Rimsky-Korsakov, 1864, in the Limelight/Cynthia a Snowflake in the Nutcracker
Estimate £120,000 - 150,000 ‡
Sold for £142,400
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29
Ghada Amer
Noir 2
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ‡
Sold for £62,400
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30
Bill Viola
Eternal Return
Estimate £350,000 - 450,000 ‡
Sold for £377,600
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31
Rachel Whiteread
Untitled (Trafalgar Square Plinth)
Estimate £80,000 - 120,000 ‡♠
Sold for £78,000
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32
Sarah Lucas
The Law
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000 ‡♠
Sold for £22,800
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33
Darren Almond
Time and Time again
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ‡♠
Sold for £33,600
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34
Mona Hatoum
Hair Necklace
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ‡♠
Sold for £60,000
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35
Chris Ofili
Rarra Azizah Dilberta
Estimate £300,000 - 400,000 ‡♠
Sold for £344,000
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36
Zhang Xiaogang
Blood Line Series: No. 16
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000
Sold for £164,800
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37
Mariko Mori
Mirror of Water
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
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38
Ron Arad
Unique "B.O.O.P" coffee table
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000
Sold for £78,000
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39
Takashi Murakami
Scarlet Heart
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
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40
Richard Prince
So What Else is New
Estimate £300,000 - 400,000 ‡
Sold for £433,600
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41
Mike Kelley
The Sun Collapses Taking with it the Grid of the Ordered Universe
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000
Sold for £254,400
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42
Paul McCarthy
Dirty Nose (Propo)
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000 ‡
Sold for £45,600
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43
George Condo
Untitled (Sir Alfred Chipmunk)
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000
Sold for £72,000
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44
Jack Pierson
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000
Sold for £90,000
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45
Christopher Wool
Untitled (P58)
Estimate £150,000 - 200,000
Sold for £265,600
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46
Maurizio Cattelan
Lift
Estimate £200,000 - 300,000 ♠
Sold for £187,200
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47
Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec
"Console with Vase and Bowl"
Estimate £20,000 - 25,000 ≠♠†
Sold for £16,800
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48
Richard Long
Georgia Granite Line
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ♠
Sold for £62,400
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49
Franz West
Schöner Wohnen
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠
Sold for £72,000
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50
Gregor Schneider
Nacht (Night), Totes Haus Ur
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ♠
Sold for £62,400
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51
Daniel Richter
Irren Menschlich
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ♠
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52
Albert Oehlen
Leuchter
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000 ♠
Sold for £96,000
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53
Andreas Gursky
Athens
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ‡♠
Sold for £220,800
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54
Martin Kippenberger
Frau Mit Viel Zeit
Estimate £400,000 - 600,000 ‡
Sold for £433,600
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55
Eberhard Havekost
Platanen 1
Estimate £70,000 - 90,000 ♠
Sold for £72,000
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56
Shiro Kuramata
Acrylic stool
Estimate £18,000 - 22,000
Sold for £26,400
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57
Fang Lijun
2004.3.7
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000
Sold for £30,000
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58
Tom Friedman
Untitled
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ‡
Sold for £48,000
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59
Maurizio Cattelan
Joseph Beuys' Suit
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ♠
Sold for £33,600
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60
Franz West
Sessel
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000 ♠
Sold for £36,000
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61
Magnus Plessen
Untitled
Estimate £30,000 - 40,000 ‡♠
Sold for £42,000
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62
Thomas Hirschhorn
Abstrait Relief No. 548 (Nietzche)
Estimate £35,000 - 45,000 ‡
Sold for £84,000
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63
Thomas Struth
Paradise 1 (Pilgrim Sands), Daintree/ Australia
Estimate £25,000 - 35,000 ‡♠
Sold for £50,400
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64
Andreas Gursky
Heidelberger Ost
Estimate £60,000 - 80,000 ‡♠
Sold for £72,000
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65
Martin Kippenberger
M.K.N.Y.
Estimate £50,000 - 70,000
Sold for £78,000
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66
Anselm Kiefer
Geburt der Sonne (Birth of the Sun)
Estimate £120,000 - 180,000 ♠
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67
Jörg Immendorff
Malerstamm André
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000 ♠
Sold for £54,000
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68
Günther Förg
Untitled
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000 ♠
Sold for £66,000
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69
Tobias Rehberger
Cutting Library
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ‡♠
Sold for £16,800
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70
Wim Delvoye
St. Stephanus III
Estimate £35,000 - 45,000 ♠
Sold for £69,600
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71
Yang Shaobin
2002-12, No. 1
Estimate £40,000 - 60,000
Sold for £48,000
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72
Maurizio Cattelan
Mother
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ♠
Sold for £45,600
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73
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Elizabeth II
Estimate £20,000 - 30,000 ‡
Sold for £72,000
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