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Lot Essay
The development of the 'Nanyang' school is considered a formative part of Singapore art history. During the mid-20th century, the term 'Nanyang' was used to describe the contemporary culture of Chinese migrants; and when applied to art, it grew to represent the mix of styles and techniques which first-generation artists such as Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Wen Hsi, Liu Kang Chen Chong Swee and Georgette Chen pioneered. Nanyang style art combines classical Chinese art training with Parisian aesthetics particularly in the composition of small figurative scenes and still lifes.
One of the most crucial milestones was the historic trip to Bali in 1952 taken by Cheong Soo Pieng, Liu Kang, Chen Wen Hsi and Chen Chong Swee, in search of a distinctive Southeast Asian visual identity. The result of this trip has been irrevocably associated with the Nanyang school, engendering compositions focused on Balinese females, 'kampong' (village) scenes, or pastoral landscapes. At the same time, each individual artist embarked on personal journeys to further develop their art, resulting in the modernist abstracts and still lifes of Cheong Soo Pieng, the genre scenes of Liu Kang, and the calligraphic works of Chen Wen Hsi.
Going to Market (Lot 120) is a superb rendition of Cheong Soo Pieng's acclaimed series of Balinese female works. Dated to 1979, it is particularly refined in its execution, seen through the meticulous details of the women's long-lidded faces, their elongated limbs and baskets of fruit, as well as the cloud of leaves and arching angular tree branches in the background. Apart from painted works, Cheong Soo Pieng also experimented with various mediums. Family (Lot 121) reflects his interest in depicting Balinese themes in a metal-relief form. The artist developed unique methods of bending and casting the metalwork, before infilling the outlines with a type of glazed enamel. Beneath the main image is a frieze of small inlaid tiles to lend another form of texture to the piece.
Another example of Cheong Soo Pieng's varied aesthetic is Sunflowers (Lot 124), a study rendered in French salon style. It inevitably brings to mind Van Gogh's famous composition, however Cheong's version possesses an almost cubist quality. It is as though the artist is attempting to pare down the flowers into various geometric shapes, from the triangularity of the petals to the spherical shape of the vase, while the background is divided into four non-equal rectangles. Yet when viewed as a complete whole, it retains the charming intimacy of a carefully composed still life.
Abstract Composition (Lot 123) is a rare composition by Chen Wen Hsi, a modernist abstract work of thick swathes of red, green, yellow and navy paint. Its central imagery appears to be figurative, executed on a vertical axis however as the colors blend and separate from each other, interpretation also appears to be up to the perception of the viewer. From our understanding of Chen's other oil on canvas works, it is most likely the artist began with tangible object forms before dissolving their concrete shapes into an amorphous melee.
One of the most crucial milestones was the historic trip to Bali in 1952 taken by Cheong Soo Pieng, Liu Kang, Chen Wen Hsi and Chen Chong Swee, in search of a distinctive Southeast Asian visual identity. The result of this trip has been irrevocably associated with the Nanyang school, engendering compositions focused on Balinese females, 'kampong' (village) scenes, or pastoral landscapes. At the same time, each individual artist embarked on personal journeys to further develop their art, resulting in the modernist abstracts and still lifes of Cheong Soo Pieng, the genre scenes of Liu Kang, and the calligraphic works of Chen Wen Hsi.
Going to Market (Lot 120) is a superb rendition of Cheong Soo Pieng's acclaimed series of Balinese female works. Dated to 1979, it is particularly refined in its execution, seen through the meticulous details of the women's long-lidded faces, their elongated limbs and baskets of fruit, as well as the cloud of leaves and arching angular tree branches in the background. Apart from painted works, Cheong Soo Pieng also experimented with various mediums. Family (Lot 121) reflects his interest in depicting Balinese themes in a metal-relief form. The artist developed unique methods of bending and casting the metalwork, before infilling the outlines with a type of glazed enamel. Beneath the main image is a frieze of small inlaid tiles to lend another form of texture to the piece.
Another example of Cheong Soo Pieng's varied aesthetic is Sunflowers (Lot 124), a study rendered in French salon style. It inevitably brings to mind Van Gogh's famous composition, however Cheong's version possesses an almost cubist quality. It is as though the artist is attempting to pare down the flowers into various geometric shapes, from the triangularity of the petals to the spherical shape of the vase, while the background is divided into four non-equal rectangles. Yet when viewed as a complete whole, it retains the charming intimacy of a carefully composed still life.
Abstract Composition (Lot 123) is a rare composition by Chen Wen Hsi, a modernist abstract work of thick swathes of red, green, yellow and navy paint. Its central imagery appears to be figurative, executed on a vertical axis however as the colors blend and separate from each other, interpretation also appears to be up to the perception of the viewer. From our understanding of Chen's other oil on canvas works, it is most likely the artist began with tangible object forms before dissolving their concrete shapes into an amorphous melee.