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Lot Essay
Visualizing Landscapes: A Nanyang Preoccupation
One of the distinct characteristics of the Singapore -based art movement, the 'Nanyang' school , was their fascination with visualizing and articulating landscapes with precision as well emotion. This extended beyond Southeast Asia to the various lands in which they travelled, as they searched for artistic inspiration and a sense of identity - not necessarily their own native or adopted identities, but also to capture the essence of wonder, belonging, and recognition that would come about when faced with a new yet heartwarming vista.
The following five lots are excellent examples of how three different Singaporean artists worked toward this end. Cheong Soo Pieng and Liu Kang are well known as Nanyang school pioneers, while Tan Choh Tee, coming a half-generation later, graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1962 where he was tutored by Cheong and Liu, as well as Chen Wen Hsi, and Georgette Chen. Lim Hak Tai was his principal and Ng Eng Teng his peer.
The first two examples from Cheong Soo Pieng: Thinking (Lot 3470) and Mother & Son (Lot 3471) are classic village scenes by the artist, rendered with angular figures, a tightly vertical composition, patterned foliage, and an overlaying bronze sheen to the entire work. In contrast, Kelong at the River Mouth (Lot 3473) presents an interesting and parallel dynamic to Cheong's method of portraying landscapes. This work reflects Cheong's interest in abstraction merged with an almost calligraphic sensibility, yet painted in Western oil rather than ink on paper. The background is softly washed through with light, warm blue, and the kelong scene is nestled at the centre within an almost circular composition. Swift impressionistic strokes of white just below the kelong give a sense of water movement or weather changes, imbuing energy into the overall scene.
A Scenic View of Huangshan (Lot 3472) by Liu Kang was composed during the artist's trip home to his native China. Of small-format, it is quite possible this was painted plein-air. The Yellow Mountains provided additional inspiration to Liu Kang, who had become accustomed to painting the flatter lands of Southeast Asia, or kampong scenes, and allowed him to experiment with a richer, more contrasting color palette and greater evidence of shading than within his Southeast Asian scenes, in order to accurately depict the mountain mists.
Singapore River (Lot 3473) is a superb example of Tan Choh Tee's recognizable Singapore landscapes. Warm, bright colors and a strong painting technique make this a highly expressive composition, with the familiar visage of the Boat Quay rice godowns and bumboats moored in the river shallows. Tan executes his work in the realm between realism and impressionism, with a strict, patient and methodical approach, which nonetheless takes nothing away from the verve and spontaneity of the overall scene.
One of the distinct characteristics of the Singapore -based art movement, the 'Nanyang' school , was their fascination with visualizing and articulating landscapes with precision as well emotion. This extended beyond Southeast Asia to the various lands in which they travelled, as they searched for artistic inspiration and a sense of identity - not necessarily their own native or adopted identities, but also to capture the essence of wonder, belonging, and recognition that would come about when faced with a new yet heartwarming vista.
The following five lots are excellent examples of how three different Singaporean artists worked toward this end. Cheong Soo Pieng and Liu Kang are well known as Nanyang school pioneers, while Tan Choh Tee, coming a half-generation later, graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1962 where he was tutored by Cheong and Liu, as well as Chen Wen Hsi, and Georgette Chen. Lim Hak Tai was his principal and Ng Eng Teng his peer.
The first two examples from Cheong Soo Pieng: Thinking (Lot 3470) and Mother & Son (Lot 3471) are classic village scenes by the artist, rendered with angular figures, a tightly vertical composition, patterned foliage, and an overlaying bronze sheen to the entire work. In contrast, Kelong at the River Mouth (Lot 3473) presents an interesting and parallel dynamic to Cheong's method of portraying landscapes. This work reflects Cheong's interest in abstraction merged with an almost calligraphic sensibility, yet painted in Western oil rather than ink on paper. The background is softly washed through with light, warm blue, and the kelong scene is nestled at the centre within an almost circular composition. Swift impressionistic strokes of white just below the kelong give a sense of water movement or weather changes, imbuing energy into the overall scene.
A Scenic View of Huangshan (Lot 3472) by Liu Kang was composed during the artist's trip home to his native China. Of small-format, it is quite possible this was painted plein-air. The Yellow Mountains provided additional inspiration to Liu Kang, who had become accustomed to painting the flatter lands of Southeast Asia, or kampong scenes, and allowed him to experiment with a richer, more contrasting color palette and greater evidence of shading than within his Southeast Asian scenes, in order to accurately depict the mountain mists.
Singapore River (Lot 3473) is a superb example of Tan Choh Tee's recognizable Singapore landscapes. Warm, bright colors and a strong painting technique make this a highly expressive composition, with the familiar visage of the Boat Quay rice godowns and bumboats moored in the river shallows. Tan executes his work in the realm between realism and impressionism, with a strict, patient and methodical approach, which nonetheless takes nothing away from the verve and spontaneity of the overall scene.