Image size: H38.9 x W30.2 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.An important part of Cheong’s artistic development was his travels. He had visited Sarawak in 1959 and was so captivated by the Borneo community that he made another trip to Sabah in 1961. Besides collecting artefacts, he also made a number of sketches and drawings to record his experiences interacting with the community. ‘(Untitled) Dayak Man With Folded Arms’ is an example of Cheong’s study of the community’s daily activities.
