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Lot Essay
CHEONG SOO PIENG: EXPOLORING THE ABSTRACT
Cheong Soo Pieng is regarded as one of the most innovative and established artists of his generation in Singapore. Despite having a deep foundation in traditional Chinese painting having received formal training at the Xiamen Academy of Fine Art (1933-1936) as well as the Shanghai Academy of Fine Art (1936-1937), it was not until his arrival in Singapore in 1946 that Cheong truly felt the freedom to experiment in modes of artistic expression beyond the traditional rules of Chinese aesthetics and expression.
Following a trip to Europe between the years 1961-1963, Cheong began the development of a distinctive style of abstraction through his art. Borrowing from the expressive freedom of the Western abstract expressionists, and fusing this with the elegance and control of the developing school of abstract art emerging with the likes of Asian painters Zao Wou-Ki and Chu Teh-Chun, Cheong was able to pioneer a completely new form of semi-abstraction that achieved in a distinctive ability to formalize the intangible effect of scenes and landscapes. The following group of oil and paper works present Cheong's recognizable style of abstraction that retain the subject matter of his early works, but given fresh treatment through a new artistic perspective.
Tranquility (Lot 301), Abstract Landscape (Lot 302), and Kelong (Lot 303) are expressions of the profound sense of artistic liberation that Cheong experienced whilst in Europe, and come from a pristine collection in Denmark. Together with the atmospheric City Wall Under Moonlight (Lot 304), we begin to understand the appeal of Cheong's abstract works that transcend regional boundaries. Cheong's depictions of landscape capture the emotional impressions of places through colour and texture, and the results are remarkably evocative.
Painted in the vertical format typical of Chinese scroll paintings, Abstract Landscape (Lot 305) and Kampong Life (Lot 306) present varying degrees of abstraction of similar scenes of village life in Southeast Asia. Painted within two years of each other, the works present Cheong's endless innovation in subject and medium and his confidence in rendering perspective within the pictorial plane. With their vivid colours and clarity of composition, the works are refreshing examples of their type.
Cheong ultimately succeeds in capturing the focus of the viewer by use of his subtly varying tones of colour as well as his elegance of composition. As we are drawn further into the work, familiar forms of fishing villages on stilts, shophouses, and lush landscapes come into focus in varying degrees – evoked with a simplicity of line and form that are a testament to Cheong's artistic sensitivity in distilling the essential features of his subjects.
Cheong Soo Pieng is regarded as one of the most innovative and established artists of his generation in Singapore. Despite having a deep foundation in traditional Chinese painting having received formal training at the Xiamen Academy of Fine Art (1933-1936) as well as the Shanghai Academy of Fine Art (1936-1937), it was not until his arrival in Singapore in 1946 that Cheong truly felt the freedom to experiment in modes of artistic expression beyond the traditional rules of Chinese aesthetics and expression.
Following a trip to Europe between the years 1961-1963, Cheong began the development of a distinctive style of abstraction through his art. Borrowing from the expressive freedom of the Western abstract expressionists, and fusing this with the elegance and control of the developing school of abstract art emerging with the likes of Asian painters Zao Wou-Ki and Chu Teh-Chun, Cheong was able to pioneer a completely new form of semi-abstraction that achieved in a distinctive ability to formalize the intangible effect of scenes and landscapes. The following group of oil and paper works present Cheong's recognizable style of abstraction that retain the subject matter of his early works, but given fresh treatment through a new artistic perspective.
Tranquility (Lot 301), Abstract Landscape (Lot 302), and Kelong (Lot 303) are expressions of the profound sense of artistic liberation that Cheong experienced whilst in Europe, and come from a pristine collection in Denmark. Together with the atmospheric City Wall Under Moonlight (Lot 304), we begin to understand the appeal of Cheong's abstract works that transcend regional boundaries. Cheong's depictions of landscape capture the emotional impressions of places through colour and texture, and the results are remarkably evocative.
Painted in the vertical format typical of Chinese scroll paintings, Abstract Landscape (Lot 305) and Kampong Life (Lot 306) present varying degrees of abstraction of similar scenes of village life in Southeast Asia. Painted within two years of each other, the works present Cheong's endless innovation in subject and medium and his confidence in rendering perspective within the pictorial plane. With their vivid colours and clarity of composition, the works are refreshing examples of their type.
Cheong ultimately succeeds in capturing the focus of the viewer by use of his subtly varying tones of colour as well as his elegance of composition. As we are drawn further into the work, familiar forms of fishing villages on stilts, shophouses, and lush landscapes come into focus in varying degrees – evoked with a simplicity of line and form that are a testament to Cheong's artistic sensitivity in distilling the essential features of his subjects.