Poems and photographs from a painter whose gestural articulations and lush, textured landscapes draw comparisons to Klimt, Van Gogh and Soutine

This book comprises never before published or exhibited poetry and photography by the Canadian artist Matthew Wong (1984–2019), whose too-brief life yielded astonishing paintings in addition to work featured here. An introduction by Wong’s friend and fellow poet John Wall Barger sheds light on the genesis of the poems and the ambition in Wong to faithfully describe the wonder and desolation of an artist’s inner life. John Cheim, founder of New York gallery Cheim & Read and an accomplished book designer, selected the photographs and designed this volume.

The institutional recognition of Matthew Wong’s achievements can be gauged by his four solo exhibitions at prominent galleries in New York, two museum shows in North America and Matthew Wong | Vincent Van Gogh: Painting as a Last Resort, the artist’s first European survey at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

The critical and popular appeal of Wong’s paintings and drawings is considerable. Six Feet Short of the Moon is the definitive introduction to Wong’s poetic and photographic artistic practice, two critical components of his creative life.