Chong Fah Cheong
Chong Fah Cheong | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946 |
| Nationality | Singapore |
| Education | Self-taught; |
| Known for | Contemporary Sculpture |
| Awards | 1981: First Prize for Sculpture, Singapore Innovations in Art Exhibition 1982: Special Award, National Day Art Exhibition 1987: Certificate of Participation, National Museum Centenary Art Exhibition 1988: Merit Award, IBM Art Award Exhibition 1990: Merit Award, IBM Art Award Exhibition 2014: Cultural Medallion |
Chong Fah Cheong is a Singaporean sculptor known for many public sculptures in Singapore. Though he worked in a variety of styles from abstract to figurative, his name is identified with a series of figurative sculptures depicting the life of people living and working along the Singapore River.
Chong was born to a large family of a general practitioner. Since the age of four, he loved to draw and sketch, and displayed talent in art. In school this talent continued to shine, but he was never good with his academic subjects. At the age of 14, the young Chong decided to quit school after completing Form 3 (Year 10) education at the St. Joseph's Institution, to join the Lasalle Brothers novitiate in Penang. Chong spent the next 7 years with the teaching order, leading a cloistered life and training to be a teacher. In 1967, he returned to secular life and began his career as a school teacher in Teluk Anson in Malaysia. A year later, he left his job to read Social Science at the University of Singapore.[1]
In 2001 Chong was commissioned by Wing Tai Holdings to create An Overture, a 3,700 tonne jade sculpture to be installed at the courtyard of the House of Tan Yeok Nee. The $80,0000 commission work began on February 14 that year, and unveiled at the House on July 13, 2001 to complement the finishing of the restoration work on the 115-year-old national monument, which was completed in September 2000 at a cost of $12 million.[2]
In 2014, Chong was awarded the Cultural Medallion.[3]
Gallery
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![First Generation (2000) Size: various Medium: Bronze Collection: Fullerton Hotel Location: Cavenagh Bridge, Singapore The sculpture was created as part of a series of sculptures by various sculptors, in the Open Air Interpretative Centre project by the Singapore Tourism Board. Chong's sculpture was the first to be unveiled on December 31, 2000.[4]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/The_First_Generation_%282000%29_by_Chong_Fah_Cheong%2C_Cavenagh_Bridge%2C_Singapore_-_20090120.jpg/80px-The_First_Generation_%282000%29_by_Chong_Fah_Cheong%2C_Cavenagh_Bridge%2C_Singapore_-_20090120.jpg)
First Generation (2000)
Size: various
Medium: Bronze
Collection: Fullerton Hotel
Location: Cavenagh Bridge, Singapore
The sculpture was created as part of a series of sculptures by various sculptors, in the Open Air Interpretative Centre project by the Singapore Tourism Board. Chong's sculpture was the first to be unveiled on December 31, 2000.[4] -
Another Day (The Coolies)
(2000)
Size: 150 x 160 x 130cm
Medium: Bronze
Collection: Private collection
Location: West wing of the Singapore Art Museum
Another Day immortalises the coolie - that archetype of the labourer or workman of the bygone days. In contrast to the coolies known historically, Chong's coolies are more those that still perform manual labour in warehouses and bumboats along the Singapore River in the 1970s and 1980s, and is today an extinct scene in urban Singapore. This sculpture was also created for the exhibition at the Singapore Tourism Board pavilion during the Expo 2000 held in Frankfurt, Germany.
![First Generation (2000) Size: various Medium: Bronze Collection: Fullerton Hotel Location: Cavenagh Bridge, Singapore The sculpture was created as part of a series of sculptures by various sculptors, in the Open Air Interpretative Centre project by the Singapore Tourism Board. Chong's sculpture was the first to be unveiled on December 31, 2000.[4]](/wiki/File:The_First_Generation_(2000)_by_Chong_Fah_Cheong,_Cavenagh_Bridge,_Singapore_-_20090120.jpg)
Major exhibitions
| Dates | Title | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Woodscape | Alpha Gallery Singapore |
| 1982 | Woodscape II | Leon & Joel Galleries Singapore |
| 1984 | Exhibition | Citibank Singapore |
| 1985 | Exhibition | Alpha Gallery Singapore |
| 1992 | Sculptures in Wood, Stone & Bronze (August 22 - August 27) |
Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts Singapore |
| Openings | Strand Gallery Merritt, British Columbia | |
| August 23 - August 28, 1994 |
Dreamcatcher | The Substation Singapore |
| 1996 | Prime Elements (May 7 - May 16) |
Fort Canning Centre Gallery Singapore |
| Recent Works (October 12 - October 20) |
The Substation Singapore | |
| September 19 - October 20, 1999 |
Handmade: Shifting Paradigms (Group show) |
Singapore Art Museum Singapore |
References
- ^ Geok Boi, Lee (April 2004). "Felled trees got him sculpting". Singapore Magazine. Singapore International Foundation.
- ^ Chong, Vince (2001-07-19). "Monument gets new jade sculpture". Singapore: The Business Times, Executive Suite. p. 20.
- ^ Chia, Alice (15 October 2014). "Cultural Medallion winners: A poet, a sculptor and a theatre director". MediaCorp Pte Ltd. Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
- ^ Sim, Melissa (2002-09-02). "Be on the lookout for small scenes of life by the Singapore River in the past the next time you go by". Singapore: Straits Times Life!.
External links
