Matthew Wong's Inspired Interiors in Venice

Paintings of Matthew Wong (1984-2019) are currently on view at Palazzo Tiepolo Passi in Venice, coinciding with the 2026 Venice Biennale.

 

In a review of Wong’s exhibit in Venice, art critic Andrew Russeth wrote, “In both his art and his writing, Wong positioned living spaces as generative realms - of invention, and experimentation, and even safety, however fleeting. Some suggest caves, or wombs, or vulvae, but most are orderly living quarters.” 

 

An Untitled interior painting, done in 2018, a year before the artist’s death, is available at Surovek Gallery.

 

 

Wong was brilliant in so many ways; he had a BA in Cultural Anthropology, an MA in Photography. He studied art and art history on his own, and began to paint in 2012.

 

Wong admired the works of Matisse, Van Gogh and contemporary artists like Alex Katz and Jonas Wood.  He reached out to Wood on line. They kept in touch and Wong visited Wood’s studio. 

 

 

“He knew everything I ever made.” Wood said, “He had a huge appetite for looking and studying art he was interested in. And not just art—fashion, music, poetry. He will be missed dearly by many and I believe will influence generations to come. He was the modern day Van Gogh.”

 

Matthew Wong’s paintings are in the permanent collections of The Met, MoMA, the Morgan Library & Museum, the Guggenheim and other major venues around the world.

 

Luminous Night, a landscape auctioned at Christie’s in 2021 was given an estimate of $600,00 to $800,000 and sold for $2,190,000.

 

Matthew Wong Interiors will be on view at Palazzo Tiepolo Passi in Venice through November 1, 2026.

 

An upcoming show of Matthew Wong's work is being curated at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark for exhibit from November 10, 2027 through April 2, 2028.

 

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References:
Andrew Russeth. Living Rooms. Untapped Journal. May 20, 2026.
Nate Freeman. The Art World Remembers Matthew Wong, Self-Taught Painter of Vibrant Landscapes, Who Has Died at 35. Artnet. October 7, 2019.
Roberta Smith. A Final Rhapsody in Blue From Matthew Wong. The New York Times. December 27, 2019.

 

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Please contact us if you would like more information about the work of Matthew Wong, Jonas Wood and Alex Katz available at Surovek Gallery.

October 30, 2026