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Lot Essay
Singaporean artist Cheong Soo Pieng’s long-standing fascination in capturing the vibrancy of the Malayan life sets the tone for his prolific oeuvre that traversed over six decades. Born in Xiamen, China, Cheong spent his formative years training in both traditional Chinese ink and Western art forms before fleeing his motherland during the civil unrest. Crossing the South China Seas to an exotic tropical paradise, Malaya became home to not only Cheong, but also his contemporaries Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi and Liu Kang. In search of a new identity in an adopted land, these immigrant artists formed the main pioneers of the Nanyang style, an art movement celebrating the indigenous cultures and landscapes of Malaya or what is now known as Southeast Asia.
Painted in 1957, Garuda Dance, is a resounding reflection and a likely inspired consequence of Cheong’s first sojourn with the pioneering group to Bali, Indonesia in 1952. This landmark trip bears great significance for Cheong and his contemporaries as they embarked on an exploratory journey in search of fresh perspectives and a new painting style. Unencumbered and unrestricted by the idealised landscapes of Chinese ink painting, Cheong took to the streets and his surroundings to create a pictorial schema and style that is unique tohis identity.
Bold and experimental, Garuda Dance presents to the viewer a pair of indigenous dancers poised face to face in movement. Cheong was eager to capture the bright colours and the dancers in their traditional dress also known as Kamen, and skilfully incorporated Western art principles in his heavy application of colour to achieve his desired compositional narrative. At the same time, we see the artist’s confident use coloured strokes to illustrate the dancers’ intricate Batik patterns and are immediately reminded of Jeune Femme au Canapé by the pioneering Fauvist artist, Henri Matisse. An exemplary mixed media on wood work, this lot with its painterly qualities, treatment of media and focus on body language represents Cheong’s early stylistic forays and explorations during the 1950s, as similarly represented in his work, Balinese Dance. It is also interesting to note that like many of his works during this time, the artist signed off in a Western fashion as ‘Soo Pieng 57’ on the bottom left of the painting.
Cheong’s respect and curiosity for local tradition would follow him throughout his artistic career, often depicting the local women and scenes from different perspectives. Garuda Dance exemplifies more than just Cheong’s keen observational skills, but also his study of the people and the things that make up their unique identity. The artist’s many sketches and studies on Javanese dance postures and Wayang Kulit shadow puppets in the late 40s to early 50s gave way to the lanky figures with thin elongated arms and long, slit-like eyes seen in Garuda Dance . With the artist’s implementation of the two dimensiona lside profile silhouettes of shadow puppets and the unmistakable representation of Garuda - the winged anthropomorphic bird-like protector - through the dancer’s feathered headdress and wings in the painting, Cheong incorporates and brings to life the cultures of the local people.
Simultaneously, this lot is an exceptional example of the artist’s handling and seamless inclusion of Chinese ink painting techniques.The monochromatic background exposes the artist’s rapid and unreserved strokes going back and forth, especially at the edges of the painting where the artist has allowed the diluted mixed media paint to settle in uneven drips. A precursor to Cheong’s abstract ink on paper studies of the 60s, the washed dark to light tones of the background in Garuda Dance illuminates the central focus of painting, taking us back to the founding principles of Chinese ink where depth and shadow are created through the tonal layering of ink. In this work, the use of outlines to demarcate the two figures, their facial features and the folds of their wear also resonates with Chinese ink figurative painters of centuries past. Together with the generous curve of the dancer’s face in Garuda Dance, it brings to mind the seminal work Spring Morning in the Han Palace by Ming Dynasty artist Qiu Ying.
An innovator, Cheong’s artistic style and vision relentless developed over the course of his career as he continuously pushed boundaries and explored techniques and modes of expression. Garuda Dance is thus a remarkable masterpiece preserved in time that reveals Cheong’s skill in harmonising his technical art expertise from both East and West in tandem with his new ties to the region and its people.
Painted in 1957, Garuda Dance, is a resounding reflection and a likely inspired consequence of Cheong’s first sojourn with the pioneering group to Bali, Indonesia in 1952. This landmark trip bears great significance for Cheong and his contemporaries as they embarked on an exploratory journey in search of fresh perspectives and a new painting style. Unencumbered and unrestricted by the idealised landscapes of Chinese ink painting, Cheong took to the streets and his surroundings to create a pictorial schema and style that is unique tohis identity.
Bold and experimental, Garuda Dance presents to the viewer a pair of indigenous dancers poised face to face in movement. Cheong was eager to capture the bright colours and the dancers in their traditional dress also known as Kamen, and skilfully incorporated Western art principles in his heavy application of colour to achieve his desired compositional narrative. At the same time, we see the artist’s confident use coloured strokes to illustrate the dancers’ intricate Batik patterns and are immediately reminded of Jeune Femme au Canapé by the pioneering Fauvist artist, Henri Matisse. An exemplary mixed media on wood work, this lot with its painterly qualities, treatment of media and focus on body language represents Cheong’s early stylistic forays and explorations during the 1950s, as similarly represented in his work, Balinese Dance. It is also interesting to note that like many of his works during this time, the artist signed off in a Western fashion as ‘Soo Pieng 57’ on the bottom left of the painting.
Cheong’s respect and curiosity for local tradition would follow him throughout his artistic career, often depicting the local women and scenes from different perspectives. Garuda Dance exemplifies more than just Cheong’s keen observational skills, but also his study of the people and the things that make up their unique identity. The artist’s many sketches and studies on Javanese dance postures and Wayang Kulit shadow puppets in the late 40s to early 50s gave way to the lanky figures with thin elongated arms and long, slit-like eyes seen in Garuda Dance . With the artist’s implementation of the two dimensiona lside profile silhouettes of shadow puppets and the unmistakable representation of Garuda - the winged anthropomorphic bird-like protector - through the dancer’s feathered headdress and wings in the painting, Cheong incorporates and brings to life the cultures of the local people.
Simultaneously, this lot is an exceptional example of the artist’s handling and seamless inclusion of Chinese ink painting techniques.The monochromatic background exposes the artist’s rapid and unreserved strokes going back and forth, especially at the edges of the painting where the artist has allowed the diluted mixed media paint to settle in uneven drips. A precursor to Cheong’s abstract ink on paper studies of the 60s, the washed dark to light tones of the background in Garuda Dance illuminates the central focus of painting, taking us back to the founding principles of Chinese ink where depth and shadow are created through the tonal layering of ink. In this work, the use of outlines to demarcate the two figures, their facial features and the folds of their wear also resonates with Chinese ink figurative painters of centuries past. Together with the generous curve of the dancer’s face in Garuda Dance, it brings to mind the seminal work Spring Morning in the Han Palace by Ming Dynasty artist Qiu Ying.
An innovator, Cheong’s artistic style and vision relentless developed over the course of his career as he continuously pushed boundaries and explored techniques and modes of expression. Garuda Dance is thus a remarkable masterpiece preserved in time that reveals Cheong’s skill in harmonising his technical art expertise from both East and West in tandem with his new ties to the region and its people.