Chong Fah Cheong () is a Singaporean sculptor known for many public sculptures in Singapore. He is considered as one of Singapore’s pioneer sculptors and was awarded the

Cultural Medallion The Cultural Medallion is a cultural award in Singapore conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film. It is widely recognized as Singapore's pinnacle arts award. Histo ...

, Singapore's pinnacle arts award in 2014. Though he worked in a variety of styles from abstract to figurative, his name is identified with a series of figurative sculptures depicting the life of people living and working along the

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, altho ...

Early life and education

Chong was born to a large family, the 12th child of 13 children, of a general practitioner and housewife. Since the age of four, he loved to draw and sketch, and displayed talent in art. In school this talent continued to shine, but he was never good with his academic subjects. At the age of 14, the young Chong decided to quit school after completing Form 3 (

Year 10 Year 10 is the tenth year of compulsory education in schools in many countries including England, Australia, India, Northern Ireland, New Zealand and Wales. It is the tenth or eleventh year of compulsory education. It is approximately equivalent ...

) education at the St. Joseph's Institution, to join the Lasalle Brothers

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

in Penang. Chong spent the next 7 years with the teaching order, leading a cloistered life and training to be a teacher. In 1967, he returned to secular life and began his career as a school teacher in Teluk Anson in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. A year later, he left his job to read Social Science at the

University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

and a diploma in curriculum studies in art and design from the City of Birmingham Polytechnic in the United Kingdom.

Career

Chong was an art teacher at Saint Patrick's School in the 1970s where Brother Joseph McNally was the principal. Chong made his first sculptures out of wood after being told by McNally to make use of wood from trees felled on campus. Chong left teaching in 1978. In September 1981, Chong won the First Prize for Sculpture, Singapore Innovations in Art Exhibition for his art pieced, ''Triad''. In 2000, Chong created a sculpture, First Generation, as part of a series of sculptures by various sculptors, in the Open Air Interpretative Centre project by the

Singapore Tourism Board The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore, tasked to promote the country's tourism industry. History The board was first established on 1 January 1964 and wa ...

. The sculpture was the first to be unveiled on December 31, 2000. In 2001 Chong was commissioned by Wing Tai Holdings to create ''An Overture'', a 3,700 tonne jade sculpture to be installed at the courtyard of the

House of Tan Yeok Nee The House of Tan Yeok Nee ( Chinese: 陈旭年宅第 or 陈旭年大厦) is a mansion building located at the junction of Penang Road and Clemenceau Avenue in the Museum Planning Area in Singapore. After an extensive restoration completed in ...

. The $800,000 commission work began on 14 February that year, and unveiled at the House on 13 July 2001 to complement the finishing of the restoration work on the 115-year-old national monument, which was completed in September 2000 at a cost of $12 million. In 2002, Chong was commissioned by the city of

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration The ce ...

to create a piece of public art, ''The Romp'', a bronze statue of children playing. In 2011, Chong was commissioned by Asia-Pacific Breweries, in celebration of their 80th anniversary, to create a bronze sculpture, ''Chang Kuda'', featuring six boys riding piggy-back. The $200,000 piece was unveiled in 2011 at the Swan Lake in the

Singapore Botanic Gardens The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a -year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...

. The Bamboo Garden at the National Library building featured nine of Chong's bronze and marble figures of readers and fantastical creatures. The garden was opened for public use in April 2012. In 2014, Chong was awarded the

. Eighteen sculture pieces from Chong are part of Singapore's National Collection of art and displayed in the

National Art Gallery List of national galleries is a list of national art galleries. {{tocright Africa *Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa *National Art Gallery of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia The Americas *Galería Nacional, San Juan, Puerto ...

when it opens in 2015.

Personal life

Chong married to Pang Guek Cheng, a journalist, in 1972 and have 2 children together. In 1989, Chong moved his family to

Merritt, British Columbia Merritt is a city in the Nicola Valley of the south-central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Situated at the confluence of the Nicola and Coldwater rivers, it is the first major community encountered after ...

, Canada for a slower pace of life and his children are not coping well with Chinese classes in school.

Gallery

File:The First Generation (2000) by Chong Fah Cheong, Cavenagh Bridge, Singapore - 20090120.jpg, First Generation (2000)
Size: various
Medium:

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

Collection: Fullerton Hotel
Location:

Cavenagh Bridge Cavenagh Bridge is the only suspension bridge and one of the oldest bridges in Singapore, spanning the lower reaches of the Singapore River in the Downtown Core. Opened in 1869 to commemorate Singapore's new Crown colony of the Straits Settlements ...

, Singapore The sculpture was created as part of a series of sculptures by various sculptors, in the Open Air Interpretative Centre project by the

. Chong's sculpture was the first to be unveiled on 31 December 2000.

Major exhibitions

References

External links

Official Website of Sculptor Chong Fah Cheong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Fah Cheong 1946 births Living people Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean artists Singaporean sculptors Recipients of the Cultural Medallion