How art sensation Matthew Wong learned his craft in Hong Kong – tutor recalls an eager student, gallerist his eye for detail

One of the most talked about artists of his generation, the late Matthew Wong initially studied photography in Hong Kong and held his first show in the city

His tutor, fellow artist Leung Chi-wo, recalls a serious young man thirsting for knowledge; a city gallery director was struck by his ‘uncommon sensitivity’

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Works by the late Canadian artist Matthew Wong on display at the Massimo De Carlo gallery in Hong Kong in 2019. “The eye for detail he had was amazing,” says its director, Claudia Albertini. Photo: courtesy Massimo De Carlo, Milan/London/Hong Kong

Published: 7:15am, 22 Jul 2020Updated: 6:39pm, 23 Jul 2020

Self-taught, he only started painting after completing a degree course in photography in Hong Kong seven years ago, yet his work quickly earned comparison with the art of modern masters such as Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Edvard Munch.

“The eye for detail he had was amazing,” recalls Hong Kong gallerist Claudia Albertini. “He was one of my best students,” says one of his teachers, the artist Leung Chi-wo.

On October 2, 2019, Chinese Canadian artist Matthew Wong took his own life on what seemed to be the cusp of an exceptionally promising career. He was 35 years old.

His untimely death gave rise to much curiosity about his persona and his art, and since then his vibrant, expressive paintings have become a commercial sensation, with several selling for record prices at auction this month.

Matthew Wong's Homecoming (2017), which sold for HK$3 million at auction in Hong Kong this month. Photo: courtesy Christie’s

Homecoming (2017), estimated to sell for between HK$460,000 and HK$640,000 (US$59,000 and US$83,000), went for HK$3 million in the Hong Kong leg of Christie’s Global ONE sale on July 10.