Cheong Soo Pieng was born in Amoy, China in 1917. He studied at the Amoy Art Academy and the Xinhua Academy of Fine Arts in Shanghai from 1933 to 1936. In 1946, Cheong settled in Singapore and taught at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts until 1961. Together with fellow artists Chen Wen Hsi, Chen Chong Swee and Liu Kang, they went to Bali, Indonesia in 1952 in search of new inspiration and subject matter. Cheong had a dominant influence on the development of modern art in Singapore and is regarded as one of Singapore’s pioneer artists. His innovative experimentations towards developing his stylistic oeuvre had a great influence on his students, many of whom later became established artists in the region. For his contributions in art, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Singapore government in 1962. Cheong passed away in 1983 in Singapore.When Cheong moved to Singapore in 1946, the encounter with a new culture and subject matter provided the impetus and opportunity to create a new art style for the new homeland. Although Cheong was trained in traditional Chinese ink painting, he was open to experimentation. Together with fellow artists, they developed the ‘nanyang’ (southern seas in Chinese) style which is a synthesis of Chinese painting tradition with Western art styles. ‘Waterfront Scene’ is an example: painted in Chinese ink and colours on paper, in a vertical format not unlike the traditional Chinese landscapes, it incorporates elements of geometry, simplification and stylization.
