(Untitled) Portrait of a Young Man

Cheong Soo Pieng (1917-1983) is regarded as a pivotal figure in Singapore�'s modern art development. Born in Xiamen, China, he was part of a group of artists that attempted to articulate a style identifiable and pertinent to post-war Singapore, then known collectively with Malaysia, as Malaya. This style, later crystallized as the Nanyang Style, provided a foundation upon which future generations of artists learned and expanded on. A key element of the Nanyang Style was the synthesis of Chinese pictorial elements and the diverse formalistic qualities from the School of Paris.� 'Untitled (Portrait of a Young Man)'� is a figurative study where Cheong distorts the essence of a person, which is reminiscent of Picasso'�s distortion of faces. This caricature-like sketch, a recurring study of Cheong's rhythmical and fluid lines, attributes to his trademark figures of elongated limbs � reflected in a series of the most compelling paintings produced in the late 70s to early 80s.