Cheong Soo Pieng (Singaporean, 1917-1983)

Winnowing

Footnotes

Provenance:
Acquired directly from the artist
Private Collection, Singapore

Published:
Soo Pieng, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore, 2013, p.91

鐘泗賓　簸穀　設色紙本　一九五〇年代作

款識：泗浜
鈐印：泗滨

來源：
直接得自畫家
新加坡私人收藏

出版：
《泗浜》，南洋藝術學院，新加坡，2013年，頁91

'I went to Bali on a sketching trip, and there I was fascinated by the scenery and by the Balinese women. I discovered that Balinese women are the ideal subject for me, and I made a good number of paintings, modern in feeling and to my own liking.' - Cheong Soo Pieng

Of the 300 pieces of sketch that the artist realised during his trip to Bali in 1952, one served as a reference for our current lot (illustrated in Soo Pieng, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore, 2013, p.123). Representing a typical Balinese rural scene, Winnowing epitomises the painter's lifelong fascination with the vibrant, exotic beauty of Southeast Asian women. Cheong Soo Pieng's tones and minimal strokes enhance the vibrancy of the scene, where the three women accomplish a daily ritual of winnowing rice. Portrayed full-length, his figures seem unburdened by the chore, even meditative. Their eyes are downcast or shadowed by a hat, their posture show no tension or strain, and the bucket of grain appears virtually weightless. Utilising simple lines and forms, the composition succeeds in capturing the focus of the viewer on the falling chaff.