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.Though Cheong was primarily known for his iconographic Malayan figures, his relentless experimentation saw him producing works in various mediums. This particular work produced in 1964 shows his investigations into the landscape genre. Employing mostly monochromatic colours, one can make out the subtle allusion to a mountain range at the top-half of the composition.
