Chong Fah Cheong

Chong Fah Cheong (simplified Chinese: 张华昌; traditional Chinese: 張華昌; pinyin: Zhāng Huá Chāng) 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 Fah Cheong
Born1946 (1946)
 Singapore
NationalitySingaporean
EducationSelf-taught;
Known forContemporary sculpture
Awards1981: 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

Early life

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]

Career

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 $800,000 commission work began on 14 February that year, and unveiled at the House on 13 July 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]

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
(22 – 27 August)		 Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts
Singapore
Openings Strand Gallery
Merritt, British Columbia
23 August -
28 August 1994		 Dreamcatcher The Substation
Singapore
1996 Prime Elements
(7 – 16 May)		 Fort Canning Centre Gallery
Singapore
Recent Works
(12 – 20 October)		 The Substation
Singapore
19 September -
20 October 1999		 Handmade: Shifting Paradigms
(Group show)		 Singapore Art Museum
Singapore

References
  1. Geok Boi, Lee (April 2004). "Felled trees got him sculpting". Singapore Magazine. Singapore International Foundation.
  2. Chong, Vince (19 July 2001). "Monument gets new jade sculpture". Singapore: The Business Times, Executive Suite. p. 20.
  3. 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.
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