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Lot Essay
Painted in 1957, Cheong Soo-Pieng’s Malayan Life is a quintessential example of his celebrated Nanyang art style that merges cubist geometric forms with vibrant Southeast Asian themes. It is notable for its elongated, horizontal canvas, a rarely found composition among his works from this period. The present work showcases his painterly virtuosity in handling bold and saturated colours, alongside thick black contours to delineate forms - another characteristic of the Nanyang style. Depicting the everyday Malayan life as one of the most celebrated themes of that period, the present work reveals Cheong’s ability to capture the essence of the region's cultural milieu while incorporating modernist techniques. In its total effect, Malayan Life attests the artist’s pivotal role in the evolution of Singapore's modern art scene, reflecting both his innovative vision and deep appreciation of his adopted homeland.
Born in Amoy, Cheong attended the art university in his hometown for three years before enrolled at the Hsinhua Academy of Fine Arts in Shanghai at the age of 19. Although he was constantly painting, his first solo exhibition was not until 1942, featuring watercolours, a medium he handled with rare delicacy. Due to material scarcity at that time, he had limited opportunities to paint in oils but instead used various mediums like watercolours, Chinese ink and the batik method. In 1946, at the age of 29, the artist moved to Singapore and joined the teaching staff at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. With ample art supplies and a new environment, he immersed himself in oil painting, mastering this medium. Utilising his Chinese artistic foundation he combined it with Malayan subjects depicting the new environment he was in.
The 1952 landmark Bali trip, which inspired Cheong and three other artists - Chen Wen Hsi, Chen Chong Swee, and Liu Kang - to reinvent their artistic styles, has been hailed as a pivotal moment in the development of the Nanyang art style within Singapore's modern art discourse. Nanyang style integrates European modern art techniques, such as Fauvism and Cubism, with distinct Southeast Asian themes. By the end of the 1950s, Cheong had spent a decade consolidating his knowledge of Western modern art and incorporating them to forge his own Nanyang style. As a new immigrant to Nanyang, this period was instrumental in fostering his understanding and appreciation of the region's unique blend of peoples and cultures, marking his identity transition from a native Chinese to a resident of Nanyang.
Cheong produced over 300 drawings during the Bali trip and completed a greater number of ink and oil works in the immediate span of 1952-1953 compared to other years. This attests to the trip's significance in fueling his artistic creation. Throughout the 1950s, Cheong was preoccupied with exploring Malayan subject matters and themes (figures, landscapes, and still lifes), building on pictorial expressions that reflect the Nanyang style. His paintings from this period are relatively small, rarely exceeding one metre in size, making any larger works from this time, like the present work, extremely rare..
In Malayan Life, Cheong effectively blends traditional Chinese handscroll techniques with a modern perspective on Malaya. By using a horizontal scroll format, he presents a continuous visual narrative that captures various aspects of Malayan life without a sequential unfolding. His approach to dividing scenes with vertical pictorial elements reflects a modern influence from illustration and comic art, providing structure without fragmenting the scenes. This method allows Cheong to explore and juxtapose rural and urban environments, showcasing an integration between both themes. His work serves as both a reflection of contemporary life in Malaya and a contrast to the traditional depiction of premodern societies.
Born in Amoy, Cheong attended the art university in his hometown for three years before enrolled at the Hsinhua Academy of Fine Arts in Shanghai at the age of 19. Although he was constantly painting, his first solo exhibition was not until 1942, featuring watercolours, a medium he handled with rare delicacy. Due to material scarcity at that time, he had limited opportunities to paint in oils but instead used various mediums like watercolours, Chinese ink and the batik method. In 1946, at the age of 29, the artist moved to Singapore and joined the teaching staff at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. With ample art supplies and a new environment, he immersed himself in oil painting, mastering this medium. Utilising his Chinese artistic foundation he combined it with Malayan subjects depicting the new environment he was in.
The 1952 landmark Bali trip, which inspired Cheong and three other artists - Chen Wen Hsi, Chen Chong Swee, and Liu Kang - to reinvent their artistic styles, has been hailed as a pivotal moment in the development of the Nanyang art style within Singapore's modern art discourse. Nanyang style integrates European modern art techniques, such as Fauvism and Cubism, with distinct Southeast Asian themes. By the end of the 1950s, Cheong had spent a decade consolidating his knowledge of Western modern art and incorporating them to forge his own Nanyang style. As a new immigrant to Nanyang, this period was instrumental in fostering his understanding and appreciation of the region's unique blend of peoples and cultures, marking his identity transition from a native Chinese to a resident of Nanyang.
Cheong produced over 300 drawings during the Bali trip and completed a greater number of ink and oil works in the immediate span of 1952-1953 compared to other years. This attests to the trip's significance in fueling his artistic creation. Throughout the 1950s, Cheong was preoccupied with exploring Malayan subject matters and themes (figures, landscapes, and still lifes), building on pictorial expressions that reflect the Nanyang style. His paintings from this period are relatively small, rarely exceeding one metre in size, making any larger works from this time, like the present work, extremely rare..
In Malayan Life, Cheong effectively blends traditional Chinese handscroll techniques with a modern perspective on Malaya. By using a horizontal scroll format, he presents a continuous visual narrative that captures various aspects of Malayan life without a sequential unfolding. His approach to dividing scenes with vertical pictorial elements reflects a modern influence from illustration and comic art, providing structure without fragmenting the scenes. This method allows Cheong to explore and juxtapose rural and urban environments, showcasing an integration between both themes. His work serves as both a reflection of contemporary life in Malaya and a contrast to the traditional depiction of premodern societies.