Image size: H59.0 x W39.1 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. A key element of the Nanyang Style was the synthesis of Chinese pictorial elements and the diverse formalistic qualities from the School of Paris. Visiting the culturally rich island of Bali, Cheong and his fellow Nanyang artists encountered various cultural performances and court rituals. In ‘(Untitled) Classical Dancer’ Cheong captures the gracefulness of a dancer in watercolour.
