Matthew Wong: Interiors - by John Cheim (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Wong's affecting exploration of the interior scene's double function--architectural space and receptacle of psychological depth--across never-before-seen paintings and works on paper

Accompanying a landmark solo exhibition presented at the Palazzo Tiepolo Passi during the 2026 Venice Biennale, Matthew Wong: Interiors features never-before-seen paintings and works on paper that foreground the artist's flair for domestic interior spaces. The exhibition, which is curated by John Cheim, also features an essay by leading curator and critic Nancy Spector that draws upon newly released archival material held by the Matthew Wong Foundation.
In his work, Wong investigates interiority as a critical locus for resistance, reflection and gradual transformation. Through the mediums of painting and drawing, he interrogates the spatial and affective registers of the interior--both as a literal, architectural space and as a metaphor for psychological depth. These works engage with the tensions between containment and expression, memory and presence, proposing a mode of aesthetic experience that privileges introspection, slowness and affective resonance over spectacle or immediacy. As critic Roberta Smith wrote in the New York Times, "These paintings are extremely open and vulnerable. But once they lure you in, they leave you alone to explore their chromatic, spatial and psychological complexities."
Upon receiving an MFA in photography from the City University of Hong Kong in 2013, Canadian artist Matthew Wong (1984-2019) pivoted to painting and drawing, teaching himself techniques through online forums and library books. Wong's work began to accrue critical attention just before his early death in 2019. He is best known for his deep-hued, melancholic landscapes populated with semi-organic figures rendered in watercolor, gouache and oil.