Cheong Soo Pieng

Born:

1917 – 1983

Place:

Singapore

Category:

Senior

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

1942 |First solo show of watercolour works in China

1953 | Paintings on Bali exhibition in Singapore, with Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi and Liu Kang.

1956 | first solo exhibitions in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur & Penang

1962 | Bond Street Galleries of Fost & Leed, London | Galerie Schoninger, Munich

1963 | Redfern Gallery, Cork Street London

1964 | Sets up an art studio in Zion Road giving private art lessons to pupils.

1967 | Twenty years of his art, a solo exhibition at the National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur

1983 | Retrospective exhibition at the National Museum Art Gallery Singapore, in 1983

2010 | Cheong Soo Pieng: Bridging Worlds at Singapore Art Museum

2013 | Soo Pieng at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) Galleries, Singapore

HONOURS/AWARDS

1962| Meritorious Service Medal by the Government of Singapore

EDUCATION

1933-1935 | Xiamen Academy of Fine Art
1936 | Xinhua Academy of Fine Art in Shanghai

Considered as a driving force in the development of Modernism in Visual Art during early 20th Century Singapore
His style is normally associated with images of long-limbed Balinese or indigenous women, ethnic or stylized
An influential arts educator at the NAFA from 1947 to 1961, he is said to be a pioneer of the ‘Nanyang’ style, which consists of a melding of Asian subject matter with Western compositional techniques
His artistic practice is closely linked to his travels – during his lifetime, his career spanned from his training in Xiamen, China, to Shanghai, to teaching in Nanyang (Malaysia and Singapore), and later to Europe, Sabah and Sarawak

AUCTIONS

1994 Mar | Christie’s Singapore | Padi farmers | oil on canvas (91.44cm x 91.44cm), 1976, SGD $42,000

2013 Nov | Masterpiece Singapore | watercolour on paper (84.5cm x 34cm), RM75,748

2014 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers| Kampung Scene, 1952 | ink on paper (25cm x 35cm), RM12,320

2015 Oct | Christie’s Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale| Abstract Composition | Undated | Oil and mixed media on canvas (99cm x 80cm), USD $153,223

2015 Oct | Christie’s Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale| Composition | Undated | Oil and mixed media on canvas (81cm x 98cm), USD $129,030

2015 May | Christie’s Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art | Concentration | 1968 | Oil on board (80cm x 100cm), USD $254,800

2015 May | Christie’s Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art| Alleyway | 1955 | Oil on canvas laid on board (52cm x 45cm), USD $137,800

2015 Nov | Christie’s Convergences: A Special Sale of Singaporean Art | Calm, 1967 | oil on canvas (99cm x 80.5cm), RM386,482

2015 Nov | Christie’s Convergences: A Special Sale of Singaporean Art | Two Sisters, 1974 | ink and gouache on paper (95cm x 46cm), RM450,895

2015 Nov | Christie’s Convergences: A Special Sale of Singaporean Art | Sisters, 1977 | oil on shaped canvas laid on board (85cm x 60cm), RM547,516

2016 April | Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | A Kayan Family, Undated | chinese ink and colour on paper (68.5cm x 84.5cm), RM231,889-RM350,410

2016 April | Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | Abstract Landscape, Undated | ink and watercolour on paper (94cm x 46cm), RM141,710

2016 April | Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | St.Paul’s Church, Undated | oil on canvas (81cm x 99cm), RM322,028

2016 April | Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | Sarawak Iglr, Undated | oil on canvas (77cm x 62cm), RM547,516

2016 April | Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | Women Planting Rice, Undated | oil on canvas (84cm x 107cm), RM247,348-RM401,941

2016 April | Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | Abstract Landscape, Undated | ink and watercolour on paper (65.5cm x 59cm), RM154,592

2016 April | Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | Blue Abstract, Undated | oil and mixed media on canvas (91cm x 120cm), RM547,516

2016 April | Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | Chattering, 1981 | oil on canvas (88cm x 113cm), RM1,277,968