Image size: H39.6 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 made the much-documented trip Bali in 1952 with a group of local artists. Besides collecting artefacts, he also made a number of sketches and drawings to record his experiences interacting with the indigenous community. ‘(Untitled) A Man Playing a Flute’ is an example of Cheong’s study of the community’s daily activities.
