An Oil Painting "Refuse"

 

My oil painting “Refuse” was inspired by the pile of clothes discarded to be recycled or reused. They are not waste; rather, they are materials for future purposes. Berkeley is a land of the free, and people can reinvent and grow into a better version of themselves through ingenuity and diligent labor. This pile of “junk”, the rejected, actually is dignified and rather beautiful in both colors and shape. Nothing is without merit and value; the collective shape resembles that of the spread tail feathers of a peacock, vibrant and alluring. There is hope that resides in this pile of “junk” and it points to a rejuvenated future.

Refuse
28” x 22”
Oil on Canvas
Completed in 2021

© Matthew Felix Sun
www.matthewfelixsun.com

A Solo Virtual Exhibition: Human Conditions: Portraits of a Fraying Age

Gallery 2727 in Berkeley is presenting my solo virtual exhibition: Human Conditions: Portraits of a Fraying Age (February 1 – March 3, 2026), featuring 21 figurative and portrait paintings of mine.

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.

Though I 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, I tend to narrow my palette, deliberately stripping away the noise.

For Human Conditions: Portraits of a Fraying Age, I have assembled a group of twenty-one oils painted over the last twenty-some years, mostly portraits and figurative pieces. The majority of these are black and white, while some are mainly monochromatic with muted coloration, and a few are inverted images like photographic negatives. All the sitters, singly or in groups, are melancholic, sad, yearning, or resigned. These images comment on the often sad, isolated nature of modern life, and on a social fabric torn apart by class divides and political schisms, depriving people of identity, hope, and self-determining agency. 

Presenting these images in muted tones, or even black and white, transforms the sitters into ghostly silhouettes that evoke fading memory and a distorted world, where the familiar has become alien and corrupt.

The exhibition also strives to capture the paradox of our time: a world more "connected" than ever, yet populated by individuals who feel more lonely, miserable, and profoundly divided than at any point in history.

 

Five Recent Abstract Paintings

 

I took an abstract painting class recently, which had many assignment of reading, writing, and paintings. The intensive course demanded a lot of focus and concentration and I was able to push myself to produce some work I am quite happy with.

Restive, Gouache on Paper, 14″ x 11″, 2024

Bulwark, Graphite & Gouache on Paper Collage, 14″ x 11″, 2024

Jubilant, Gouache on Paper, 11″ x 14″, 2024

Apparition, Gouache on Paper, 11″ x 14″, 2024

Vortex, Oil on Canvas, 28″ x 22″, 2024

An Inscrutable Portrait, Stare

My 2022 oil painting, Stare, portrays a precocious boy who emerged from a chaotic and somewhat menacing background. The lighter and purer figure demonstrates the relative innocence of the boy, in contrast to the murky and impenetrable swirling background surrounding him like a maelstrom. The somewhat stunned or stupefied expression denoted the moment when his attention was caught, and he stared straight ahead as if confronting the viewers; a moment of a sudden turn of events.

This painting was published in February 2024 by Artistonish, Issue 43.

Pessimistic oil painting “All that is solid”

 

A quote from Karl Marx “All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned” perfectly capture our sad epoch and this monochromatic painting of a disintegrating city/landscape reflects such pessimistic sentiment.

All That Is Solid
Oil on Canvas 22” x 28”
Completed in 2022

Successful East Bay Open Studios at Makers Workspace Studio

On December 2 and 3, fourteen artists and artisans presented paintings, drawings, ceramics, mosaics, and jewelry at Makers Workspace Studio during the East Bay Open Studios (EBOS). It was a successful communal space. I am particularly pleased that my friend Edith Ng presented her beautiful ceramics to the public for the first time, as our guest artist. Her debut brought tremendous energy and many guests to our studio and all of us benefit from her presence.

During the EBOS event, I was able to sell more than a dozen gouache and ink paintings. Here a some of these works:

Roots, gouache on paper, 14×11, 2023

Hydrangea, gouache on paper, 14×11, 2023 

 
The View, India Ink on Yupo paper, 14×11, 2023

Flickering, gouache on paper, 14×11, 2023

Profusion, gouache on Yupo paper, 14×11, 2023

Ethereal, gouache on Yupo paper, 14×11, 2023

Autumn Song, gouache on paper, 11×14, 2023

Red, gouache on paper, 11×14, 2023

Breaching, gouache on paper, 11×14, 2022

I am so grateful for all the support I received. Thank you!

Hallucinatory oil painting "Disperse"

 

My 2022 oil painting, Disperse, captures a hallucinatory moment of a nighttime landscape — between the silhouettes of two monumental and interlocking trees, a group of tiny figures scurrying by, running away from their familiar ground, their fates, their tormentors or captors. The specificities are intentionally omitted, so as to leave the viewers to interpret freely and to fill in the missing details, though the title does hint at diaspora stories in the headlines of late.

 Disperse, oil on canvas, 20"x30", 2022

This piece will be part of the juried exhibition "Within Sight or From Imagination" at GearBox Gallery, 770 West Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94612 (August 10 - September 9, 2023). Juror: Jeremy Morgan.
Opening Reception: August 12, Sat., 1 to 4 pm | Juror’s talk: September 2, Sat., 2 pm

July Exhibition in City Art Gallery, San Francisco

In July, I will return to the wonderful co-op gallery in San Francisco: City Art Gallery, which “opened its doors at 828 Valencia St. in 1998 and has remained a constant in the radically changing Valencia corridor.” 

Exhibition date: July 5-30
Reception & the City Art’s 25th Anniversary Celebration: July 7, Friday, 7-10 pm Location: 828 Valencia St, San Fransisco (between 19th & 20th)
Gallery Hours: Sun, Wed-Thursday 12-9 pm, Fri/Sat 12-10 pm
My gallery sitting shifts: July 16, Sat, 12-4:30 pm, July 22, Sun, 12-5 pm

Below are the sample of the pieces I will exhibit:

 

 

Opening Reception to "Rejuvenation — Winter to Spring", a solo exhibition in Albany, CA

 

 

Yesterday afternoon, the reception to my solo exhibition "Rejuvenation — Winter to Spring" took place. 

This art exhibition in Albany Community Center Foyer Art Gallery contains 14 gouache paintings I completed in the last three years, recording our collective emergence from frigid winter into a slowly thawing spring. These paintings and abstractions of landscape, juxtaposing dark hues and bright colors, rigid lines, and sensuous washes, echoing contradicting characteristics and features, reflect the shifting of seasons and moods. The show ends on June 26.

 

After several days of severe storms, balmy spring days arrived this weekend, inviting quite a few people to attend the opening reception on a beautiful spring afternoon. I was grateful for the opportunity to share my experiences and my art with these very supportive friends and art lovers.

 

Finally, spring had arrived.

Rejuvenation — Winter to Spring, a solo exhbition in Albany, CA

From March 24 through June 26, I will present 14 gouache paintings in a solo exhibition “Rejuvenation — Winter to Spring” at Albany Community Center Foyer Art Gallery.

The onset of the warm and colorful spring, dislodging frosty and somber winter, is a time for the revival and rejuvenation of nature and human spirits, and is an occasion to celebrate.

The 14 pieces presented are gouache on paper, most painted under the shadow of the pandemic, recording our collective emergence from frigid winter into a slowly thawing spring. These paintings and abstractions of landscape, juxtaposing dark hues and bright colors, rigid lines and sensuous washes, echoing contradicting characteristics and features, reflect the shifting of seasons and moods.

Albany Community Center Foyer Art Gallery
March 23 - June 26, 2023

Exploring new media - India ink on Yupo paper

 Recently, I started to explore painting with black India ink on synthetic, non-absorbent Yupo paper, whose water-resistant nature can be exploited and allow some interesting effects when the ink is washed, sprayed, scrubbed, and removed. I am happy with the results; these new paintings look richly layered, light and shadow contrasted in a complicated and mysterious way, and the flowing ink traces are often unpredictable, playful, and evocative.