Statement

I depict life frankly and critically, as visual surfaces and interior qualities. Instead of verisimilitude, I strive to discover and capture what is hidden, emphasizing the implicit and the unspoken. My recent work evokes moody atmosphere and forlorn emotions in desolate landscapes, some haunted by cryptic figures.

Over time, I have moved away from purely representational work, leaning into shifts of pattern, color, tone, and shape. I tend toward a limited palette and record the world in a muted light; yet sometimes use more vibrant colors to express enhanced emotions, or allow more exuberant colors to generate a dimension of visual excitement, acknowledging that joy remains, however grim the world may be.

Bio

Matthew Felix Sun grew up in Manchuria (northeast China), and has been perfecting his craft since childhood, when a visit to an exhibition of Italian Renaissance art cemented his passion for painting. After an education and a brief career in the sciences, which enabled him to escape his repressive native country and relocate to the US, he started to pursue art more seriously, focusing on painting with oil and, more recently, water-based media. Lately, his work focuses on emotional aspects of current environmental and social conditions. 

Sun’s work has been published by reviews including The Amistad, Artistonish, Artist Portfolio, Garo, Owen Wister Review, Pomona Valley Review, Reed Magazine, Shark Reef, The Sonder Review, Superstition Review, Wilde Magazine, and William and Mary Review.

Awards include an Honorable Mention in the juried “Fresh Works VII” exhibition presented by Harrington Gallery (Pleasanton, CA); multiple ArtSlant Prize Showcase Awards and inclusion on its Watch List; an Honorable Mention in an Artist Portfolio Magazine Landscape Contest, and its Editor’s Choice Award.

Sun’s work has been selected for exhibition in juried shows and competitions in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, San Diego, Cincinnati, Berkeley, and other US cities. 

His works are collected in the US, Canada, and China. His portfolio can be viewed at matthewfelixsun.com.