Matthew Felix Sun

Statement

What is art about?  More precisely, what are my paintings about?  I have struggled with this question ever since I started to paint.  Having copied famous artists' work, made many still life and figure studies, and having painted for the simple sensual thrill of presenting beauty or ugliness, I am left with the certainty that art is much broader and deeper than these technical accomplishments.  For me, art is incomplete if it does not transcend simple depiction of life, and enter the realms of the historian and the social commentator.

The intricate involvement with life, the sub-textual social criticism -- unpolluted by overbearing propaganda -- that is evident in the works by artists such as Matthias Grünewald, Albrecht Dürer, Francisco Goya, Max Beckmann and Käthe Kollwitz has begun to teach me how to connect myself, as an artist, to the world; and, most importantly, how to perform my duty to the society as an artist, to reflect the world through the expression of my feelings.

As a society, I wonder whether we have lost track of the human spirit. We live in a privileged time and place, with abundant materials to consume.  We are blessed with scientific understanding of the physical universe and we have been able to plant our national flag in the virgin soil of the moon.  But have we built the world we ought to live in?  As an artist and a human being I have serious doubts.  Can we truly be meant to be the masters of the earth, if reckless consumption, pollution, and mass extinction are the result of our mastery?  Will we destroy our own civilizations through irresponsible selfishness?  Will our extinction follow those of whales, tigers, foxes and dragonflies?

Life is harsh experience yet beautiful. Art ought to be from life, and above life.  To merely document surfaces is not enough: I want to grasp what is behind, which to me is far more compelling and worthwhile.

My goal is to discover the truth in life, and to portray those hidden aspects boldly, without losing beauty that is seen. Art ought to be from life, and above life.  To merely document surfaces is not enough: I want to grasp what is behind, which to me is far more compelling and worthwhile.

My goal is to discover the truth in life, and to portray those hidden aspects boldly, without losing beauty that is seen.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Cincinnati Art Academy, Cincinnati, Ohio, classes in fine and commercial art, 1996-97
Private Instructions on Oil Painting with Lilia Obrath, 1996, & Roland Huston, 1995

Publications

- "Pilgrim" and "Pond" - Wilde Magazine, Issue 2, May 2013
- "Boulevard", "Lone Traveler" and "Stringed White Dresses - An Installation" - Pomona Valley Review, Issue 7, April 2013
- "Awakening", "Dissonance", "Division", and "House of Hope" - Superstition Review, Issue 11, April 2013
- "Bombed Bridge, III" - Artist Portfolio Magazine - Issue 9, January 2013
- "In Distant Country" - Artist Portfolio Magazine - Anniversary Issue, Issue 6, April 2012
- "The Song of Orpheus" - Artist Portfolio Magazine, Cover II Art Contest 2011, Issue 2, June 2011
- “Sisyphus” – cover art for Epistemologies of Ignorance in Education, published by Information Age Publishing
- "Red Flowers", "Flowers in Blue Vase", "Flowers in Blue Vase, II", "Winter Flowers", "Gladioli", "Lotus", and "Magnolia" –  Sychronized Chaos Webzine, March 2010
- "Minotaur", "Daphne", "Sisyphus", "Adam & Eve", "Annunciation", "Jingwei Filling Up the Sea", "Nüwa Creating Humans", "Nüwa Patching Up the Sky" –  Sychronized Chaos Webzine, November 2009
- "Blindness", "Devils' Dance", "Dirge", "Falling", "Grandma", "Net", "Diptych - Sorrow and Suffering",
"Progression", and "The Triumph of Saint George" –  Sychronized Chaos Webzine, October 2009
- “Branches” and “Upstream” – The William and Mary Review - Volume 47, 2009, The College of William and Mary
- “Room with a Lamp” – The William and Mary Review - Volume 46, 2008, The College of William and Mary
- “A Young Frenchman” – The William and Mary Review - Volume 45, 2007
- “Birds and Men”, “Devils' Dance” and “The Triumph of Saint George" – The Amistad - Spring 2007, Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- “Frenchman” – The William and Mary Review - Volume 44, 2006
- “Drifting” – The William and Mary Review - Volume 43, 2005

Awards

5th 2013 ArtSlant Showcase Winner for "Diptych - Dawn" - Juroros: Darren Jones - Artist, Writer, Curator, New York  Neysa Page-Lieberman - Director & Curator in the Department of Exhibition and Performance Spaces, Columbia College, Chicago  Deb Klowden Mann - Gallery KM, Los Angeles

4th 2013 ArtSlant Showcase Winner for "Stringed White Dresses - An Installation" - Jennie Lamensdorf is director of the Time Equities Inc. Art-in-Buildings Program in New York, NY; Robin Peckham, an independent curator based in Hong Kong with a focus on private collections.; and Cole Harrell is a curator, art historian, and proud collector.

Honorable Mention for "Bombed Bridge, III" - Artist Portfolio Magazine, Issue 9, Published by  My Art Contests

5th 2012 Showcase Winner for "Ink Drawing Night City 3" - ArtSlant, Juroros: Sarah Belden, founder of Sarah Belden Fine Art Advisory; HELIANTHE BOURDEAUX-MAURIN, exhibitions manager at Pinacothèque de Paris; and CJ FOLLINI, co-chairperson of the Board of Directors of HERE Arts Center in SoHo

Editor's Choice Award for "The Song of Orpheus" - Artist Portfolio Magazine, Issue 2, Published by  My Art Contests

First 2011 Showcase Winner for "Dispersion" - ArtSlant, Juroros: Julie Davidow, ArtSlant Golden Frame artist; Walter Mason, Curator, Haggerty Museum of Art; and Hillary Metz, Director, Blythe Projects, Los Angeles

Second 2010 Showcase Winner for "Grandma" - ArtSlant, Juroros: Els Barents, Director, Huis Marseille Museum for Photography, Amsterdam; Snoozie Hexagon, Director/Curator, Elevator Gallery, London; Michelle Heinz, Director, Frederico Sève Gallery/latincollector, New York; Joey Piziali and Vanessa Blaikie, Co-Owners/Directors, Ping Pong Gallery, San Francisco; Carole A. Stakenas, Executive Director, LACE, Los Angeles

Juried Shows and Competitions

See "EXHIBITIONS & EVENTS" below.

Teaching

- “A Modern Approach to Landscape Painting” – Amsterdam Art, Berkeley, California, December 2001