Cheong Soo Pieng () was a Singaporean artist who was a pioneer of the Nanyang art style, and a driving force to the development of

Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

in visual art in the early 20th-century Singapore. He was also known for his signature depiction of Southeast Asian indigenous tribal people with elongated limbs and torso, almond-shaped faces and eyes in his paintings.

Early life

Cheong was born the youngest of seven children in

Amoy Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

, China. His parents were neutral to his choice of education, when Cheong took to studying art at the Xiamen Academy of Fine Art in 1933. In 1936 Cheong graduated and attended Xinhua Academy of Fine Art in Shanghai for further studies, only to have his education cut short with the breakout of the Sino-Japanese War and the school destroyed by Japanese invaders in 1938. Cheong returned to his alma mater to teach art, and pursued his painting passion in watercolours due to scarcity of oil paint materials. In 1942 Cheong held his first solo exhibition of watercolor works. In 1945 Cheong left China for Hong Kong and relocated to Singapore in late 1946 where he would be a lecturer at the

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA); (Standard Chinese: 南洋艺术学院; ms, Akademi Seni Halus Nanyang; ta, நன்யாங் அகாடமி ஆஃப் ஃபைன் ஆர்ட்ஸ்) is a publicly-funded post-secondary ar ...

for the next 20 years. In 1955 Cheong Soo Pieng, along with five other artists Chen Wen Hsi, Chen Chong Swee ,

Lim Hak Tai Lim Hak Tai, (; 28 May 1893 – 14 February 1963) was one of Singapore's pioneer artist at the turn of the 20th century, and was the person who inspired the Nanyang School of art form, to reflect the ' Nanyang' (South-east Asia) region, both i ...

, Tay Wee Koh, and Suri bin Mohyani were invited to showcase their artworks in England, funded by fellow artist and arts patron Ho Kok Hoe. The exhibition was officially opened by the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, the wife of Prince Edward. He inherited the dukedom ...

. In 1962, the Government of Singapore awarded Cheong Soo Pieng the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

. Cheong died on 1 July 1983 due to heart failure.

Bibliography

*T.Y., S, Y.J. Seng (2019). ''Soo Pieng: Master of Composition'': STPI. * * * * *

References

External links and further reading

Biotech website
article by Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop in ''

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'' 6 October 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheong Soo Pieng 1917 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Singaporean painters Chinese emigrants to Singapore Singaporean artists Singaporean painters Singaporean people of Hokkien descent

Early life

Bibliography

See also

References

External links and further reading