Cheong Soo Pieng

Private Collection, Singapore

Artists Imagine a Nation, Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore 2015, p. 57, color illustration 

This work is in very good overall condition as viewed. There is evidence of extremely minor wear along the edges of the work due to abrasions with the frame, but this does not affect the overall image as the paint layers are healthy overall. Close examination under ultraviolet light reveals very tiny spots of restoration in small areas in the background and the hair of three of the figures on the right. Framed.
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“Colour is not [a] mere decoration but the main theme itself in Soo Pieng’s artworks. [Colours] in different parts of a work are carefully appointed and balanced to produce harmony. Even at his most figurative, Soo Pieng is a consummate artist of the abstract. The relationship between colour and composition in his art demonstrates the practical way in which colour is used to structure and articulate his thoughts and feelings about a subject.”

Born and educated in Xiamen, China, Cheong Soo Pieng was a key proponent of the Nanyang style of art and is a central figure in the history of Southeast Asian Art. When his studies were disrupted by the Sino-Japanese War, Cheong returned to Xiamen and taught painting, followed by a stint in Hong Kong before migrating to Singapore in 1946. He travelled widely in Southeast Asia, most notably to Bali in 1952 and to the Dayak longhouses in Borneo in 1959. These two trips were significant in consolidating Cheong’s inclination towards painting tropical Southeast Asian subjects and compositions of agrarian life and the countryside.

The painting at hand depicts six young maidens from Sarawak gathered by a cluster of verdure in an effort to capture some white butterflies. As the only known work by Cheong Soo Pieng portraying the wonderful and capricious pastime of catching butterflies, this particular composition is undoubtedly rare. Cheong rejoices in the simplest joys of life, depicting naïve children who are engrossed in their ingenuous activity and captivated by the quotidian aspects of nature. With squinted eyes and ardent concentration, they glide their arms cautiously and gracefully to sweep the flying creatures with their palms. The girl in the foreground employs a leaf to aide her task. Suspended butterflies float whimsically in mid-air, and baskets and potted plants embellish the light hearted scene.

The Nanyang Style of art draws on a creative blend of ideas and artistic traditions from the East and the West, revolving around observations of material culture and people in the region. Its definition suggests an essential similarity to the primarily Dutch field of genre painting, which focuses on non-idealized subject matter, depicting scenes from everyday life and featuring ordinary people. Leisure activities were a crucial part of this documentation of society as it highlighted cultural differences as well as social similarities; a Western example of such would be Winter Landscape with Skaters by Hendrick Avercamp, a painting that depicts a common recreational pastime in the Dutch Republic.

The figures and the environment in Untitled (Catching Butterflies) are distinctively Southeast Asian; the girls are wearing traditional attire, dressed in modest veils that drape their heads and flow down to their knees, obscuring part of their meticulously designed batik sarongs.  The yellow flowers that emerge from the lush green foliage are of a tropical variety. Cheong’s depiction of Southeast Asian life was fairly consistent throughout his work, as seen in his piece Malay Life that features similarly garbed and stylized characters all portrayed with yellowish brown skin, serene features and lightly colored clothing. It is evident that the artist was inspired by Javanese shadow puppets, known as wayang puppets, which are also endowed with slim, long limbs and angular features. The piece at hand is a testament to the significance of Southeast Asian people and culture in Cheong’s oeuvre.

In terms of artistic technique, Cheong tended towards a mix between Chinese ink and oil paints, resulting in a distinctly Sino aesthetic that can be seen in other East Asian artists’ work. While the present lot was completed with oils, with regard to Cheong’s chosen subject matter of Southeast Asian life, a fair comparison can be made to the work of Lee Man Fong, another Chinese artist who found inspiration in the island of Bali. One notably similar piece would be Bali Life by Lee. It features a collective of Balinese women minding their wares, a scene of work that would be as ubiquitous as children playing with butterflies. Both Bali Life and Untitled (Catching Butterflies) feature a signatory mark of the artist in the bottom left corner, a nod to classic Chinese artistic tradition in spite of its foreign subjects.

Untitled (Catching Butterflies), painted with a warm color palette, is a centralized composition that connotes a strong connection to rural life and organic forms. Claude Monet’s Water Lilies consists of a similarly earthen – albeit brighter – color scheme, which contributes to an accurate depiction of natural imagery. There is a strong sense of unity within the composition due to the six figures all leaning upwards and to the left, drawing the viewer’s eye along a singular line of motion and emphasizing the dynamic act of catching butterflies. There is a variety of texture in the piece; it balances a dotted background, printed dresses, and blocks of solid color to create an engaging yet harmonious visual experience. The pointillist inspired dots along the backdrop provide a decorative quality to the work, reducing the sense of depth to the work. Beyond its thoughtful portrayal of everyday life in Borneo, the piece exemplifies Cheong’s technically deft hand.

Another pertinent comparison can be made between Untitled (Catching Butterflies) and Chasing Butterflies by Berthe Morisot. The latter being a painting by a French impressionist while remarkably similar in content, is distinctively different in approach with regard to the depiction of human figures. The figures in Cheong’s work are simplified and highly stylized compared to Morisot’s three, realistic, gestural ones. This creates a stark difference in tone – Cheong’s work exudes playfulness, encouraging the viewer to focus on the communal activity rather than any one person, whereas Morisot’s soft, broad brushstrokes are more poignant and stirs a sense of intrusion on a quiet moment, with the focal point of the painting coming to rest on the adult woman’s downcast eyes. Both pieces viewed in tandem also serve to demonstrate different interpretations of similarly instinctive leisure activities.

While Cheong Soo Pieng’s Untitled (Catching Butterflies) can potentially be seen as an Asian interpretation of genre painting, or a mere documentation of a scene from the artist’s travels to Sarawak, to think so would be an understatement. As a work of art, it is instantly recognizable as one of Cheong’s due to its Southeast Asian subjects and Chinese sensibilities. However, this exceptional theme is seldom depicted, and stands as the only known work featuring the ideal leisure activity of frolicking with butterflies, making it a significant piece for any collector of his body of work. It not only captures the physical nuances of local charm, but it also speaks to the importance of leisure as a part of society across the globe, showing how it varies due to culture and climate, ultimately representing the inherently inspirational nature of candid humanity, a delightful sentiment to be immortalized on canvas.