Image size: H16.2 x W26.0 cm (Mount)
Cheong Soo Pieng is regarded as a pivotal figure in Singapore’s modern art development. Born in Xiamen (Amoy), China in 1914, he was part of a group of artists that attempted to articulate a style identifiable and pertinent to post-war Singapore, then known collectively with Malaysia, as Malaya. This style, later crystallized as the Nanyang Style, provided a foundation upon which future generations of artists learned and expanded on. In this regard, Cheong’s role as a teacher at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts from 1947-1961 also proved to be significant as many of the ‘second generation’ artists studied under his tutelage.Cheong’s education at the Xinhua Academy in Shanghai would have exposed him to the Chinese ink tradition and the debates surrounding the increasing influence of the West on Chinese culture. Thus this particular ink work provides an insight into his reception of both worlds, having visited London and Europe around the same period.
