Private Collection, Singapore

This work is in good overall condition as viewed. The edges of the paper are cut unevenly but this is inherent to the artist working method. There are some tears and losses to the cardboard mounting, but this does not affect the overall image. Upon close inspection there is evidence of minor light buckling of the paper at the upper right quadrant of the work due to the artist's uneven application of adhesive. Upon very further inspection, there are slight folds to two of the square small pieces of metallic sheets and a small fray to the string at the lower edge of the work, but this is inherent to the artist's collage method and use of different media. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals no signs of restoration. Framed, under plexiglass.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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“The circular object is most disconcerting of all. It reappears many times in Soo Pieng’s abstract works: as a sun or a moon… we could only be standing in several places in the world, at several specific times of day to see the largeness of the icons of the solar system…Soo Pieng certainly understood the form as a visual intricacy, and playing with scale as a mean of visual contortion.”^{1 1}Tracy Tan, 'Soo Pieng in Nanyang', Soo Pieng, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore, 2013, p. 2

Hailed as a groundbreaking artist determined to encounter a new dialogue through the process of artistic experimentation, Singaporean artist Cheong Soo Pieng was arguably one of the most cutting-edge figures in Asia practicing during the second half of the 20^th century. Upon embarking on a trip to Europe in 1961, the maestro journeyed to new frontiers and delved deeper into a new form of artistic expression: abstraction. Upon returning to Singapore, Soo Pieng decided to transcend representational subject matter in his art and invented a new language of abstraction that encapsulated the grandiosity of nature and the cosmos.

Analytical yet sublime in its beauty, Blue Abstract shows how this visionary navigated and made headway amidst the landscape of a dramatically changing country and the larger context of a post-war continent. Executed in the 1970s, Blue Abstract ushers in Soo Pieng’s mature abstract period, making manifest the accumulated lessons from his forays into the looser brushwork in the 1960s and his obsessive inquisition into metal and industrial constructions in the early 1970s.

The present work can be deconstructed into two regions – the upper, minimalist quadrants and the lower section that fragment into dynamic minutiae. The hovering, cloudy color field above echoes Rothko’s illusive fields, alluding to the power of pure color and form. These juxtaposed zones serve to balance out the composition and also manifest a horizon line at center. The artist convolutes the bottom areas of the canvas with overlapping and colliding rectangular shapes that seem to protrude, recede, rise and sink within the pictorial space simultaneously. An amoebic formation floats in mid-air, possibly suggestive of a simplified impression of a sun delineated with reflective light and consisting of a nucleus within it. At once majestic and mysterious, Blue Abstract is emblematic of a multifaceted artist’s legacy seeking to explore spiritual dimensions and expand his artistic repertoire.