Private Collection, Singapore

Bridget Tracy Tan, Soo Pieng, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Galleries 1 & 2, Singapore, 2013, p. 38, color illustration

This work is in good overall condition as viewed. Any inconsistencies are inherent to the silk medium. There are a few very faint fox marks along the bottom edge of the work. Framed, under Plexiglas.
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An exquisite silk painting, by the revered artist Cheong Soo Pieng, Kampong Life stands as a testament to his remarkable artistic vision and iconic mature style, distinctively unique for its are medium and large size. Arguably the most prolific of the pioneering Singapore artists, Soo Pieng’s incredibly diverse oeuvre delved into various Eastern and Western painting techniques and styles. Exemplified in Kampong Life is Soo Pieng’s ability to merge these disparate styles to create his own, idiosyncratic and recognizable visual language, while also exploring the formal possibilities of different mediums. Painted on an extremely delicate surface, the current work showcases the artist’s daring confidence in ink painting and the beauty he found in the idyllic lifestyle in the tropics.   A formidable figure in the Nanyang School Movement, Soo Pieng was formally trained in the techniques of traditional Chinese ink painting at the Xiamen Academy of Fine Art. However, it was only upon arriving in Singapore in 1946 did his paintings take on a fresh perspective, perhaps driven by the new visual stimuli of the region’s rich culture. Completed in 1980, Kampong Life represents some of the most salient features of Soo Pieng’s style that defined the later parts of his career, when the artist was at the height of his creative output.

Three years after his first visit back to China since his move to Singapore thirty years prior, Soo Pieng shows his renewed interest in Chinese traditional arts by employing ink and silk, two mediums that are closely linked to Chinese history and art. Silk not only signifies luxury but the reverence the world holds for this material whose production process was once kept secret within ancient China. It is a fragile surface, demanding immense skill in controlling the ink applied to its fibers. The vertical format of Kampong Life and refinement of the artist’s lines are reminiscent of classical court paintings, while the distinct stylization of the Malay villagers display Soo Pieng’s flair for capturing the forms of his figures in elegant simplicity. While Soo Pieng ventured into a plethora of mediums, seldom does one come across silk works by the artist especially in this size

Characteristic of Soo Pieng’s acute interest in depicting the everyday, the present work offers a vista into the halcyon days of simple kampong life. Depicting a group of mothers with their children, the artist perceives these villagers as the paradigm of local indigenous community and familial bonds. Seated on outdoor benches and shaded by roofs made from dried leaves, they gather closely and are adorned in traditional Malay clothing, their batik skirts delineated with the utmost detail. Relaxing in the warmth of the tropical heat, one of the mothers shades her slumbering baby with her headscarf, while another lady discreetly helps her son wrap his sarong. Elements of the subjects’ rural lifestyle are subtly placed. A coconut fruit and a blue goat sit at the feet of the figures, suggesting their leisurely temperament as they’ve put aside the chores of the day and linger in intimate conversations.

What is especially admirable in the present work is Soo Pieng’s ability to compose the group of figures tightly in a careful balance. The headscarves of two of the women form simplified yet fluid triangular shapes. Their calm demeanors are further accentuated by the pyramidal format that frames the three mothers.  Simultaneously, the vertical structures that hold up the thatched roofs are staggered between the figures, adding dimensionality and complexity to the space. Notably, the villager’s exaggerated facial features are striking and capture the genuine quality of Soo Pieng’s stylization.

The lush verdant setting of Kampong Life has been rendered in layers of vivid detail. Varying the density of the inks, Soo Pieng creates atmospheric perspective and depth within the work. The tree trunks and branches twist and bend in a dynamic manner, breaking apart the shrubs of leaves that form a thick umbrella at the top of the composition. True to the artist’ mature style, each leaf has been painted in a graphic manner, their geometric quality tempered by looser more spontaneous strokes in the bottom half of the work.

Kampong Life ranks as one of Soo Pieng’s most sophisticated and charming paintings. It is a tender representation of the sceneries that strongly inspired many of the artist’s most iconic works, offering an idyllic glimpse into the familial relationships that bind our human existence.