Past Exhibition
EnglishABOUT THE ARTIST
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Choy Weng Yang
(b. 1930, Singapore)
Choy has made important contributions to the progress of Singapore Art Scene as an educator, art curator, art writer and as a creative visionary. Instrumental in the development
of museology in Singapore since the 1970s, Choy is renowned for his groundbreaking approach of combining various contemporary Western art styles. Inspired by his
predecessors like Paul Klee and Josef Albers, Choy imbues his own artistic expression that bridges instinctual and intellectual responses to colours. His work ruminates on the
theories and practices of these colour theorists, who used colours and composition as a springboard for conveying complex ideas, while activating a flurry of emotional reactions.
Having graduated from the Hornsey College of Art in London in 1962, Choy was largely exposed to interdisciplinary modern art movements of his time which advanced his artistic development. He absorbed the revolutionary ideas and techniques that defined European art in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly relating to the manipulation of light and colours like Turner, Monet, Matisse, Cezanne and Mondrian.
In 1973, Choy was awarded a 6-month UNESCO Fellowship where he was mentored by the Bauhaus artist and educator György Kepes. He experimented with environmental design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS). During their exchanges, Choy excelled in assimilating the concepts of transient light and color interaction into his understanding of abstract expressionism and ventured deeper into the modern art landscape of the US. This marked a pivotal point in his career, broadening his horizons as a cutting-edge painter and furthered his experiments with form, space and seeing colours beyond the visual, as a cognitive medium. Choy's dedication and proliferation of artistic ideas led him to helm the Head of the Exhibition & Design at National Museum Art Gallery (NMAG) in 1975, and was subsequently promoted to Curator of Art from 1978 to 1985. During this time, Choy promoted museum cultures and practices in Singapore, and implemented ingenious museum designs he learnt while residing overseas.
Choy played an active part in forming a community of artists to search for the identity of Singaporean Art and in pushing boundaries of traditional art movements. Like fellow second-generation artists Teo Eng Seng (1938- and Anthony Poon (1945-2006), Choy introduced and brought the focus of abstract art to avid audiences. He gained recognition for the non-conventional methods of conveying unrestrained artistic expressions that redefined modernity of art, and laid the groundwork for nurturing new generations of artists in Singapore.
Having graduated from the Hornsey College of Art in London in 1962, Choy was largely exposed to interdisciplinary modern art movements of his time which advanced his artistic development. He absorbed the revolutionary ideas and techniques that defined European art in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly relating to the manipulation of light and colours like Turner, Monet, Matisse, Cezanne and Mondrian.
In 1973, Choy was awarded a 6-month UNESCO Fellowship where he was mentored by the Bauhaus artist and educator György Kepes. He experimented with environmental design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS). During their exchanges, Choy excelled in assimilating the concepts of transient light and color interaction into his understanding of abstract expressionism and ventured deeper into the modern art landscape of the US. This marked a pivotal point in his career, broadening his horizons as a cutting-edge painter and furthered his experiments with form, space and seeing colours beyond the visual, as a cognitive medium. Choy's dedication and proliferation of artistic ideas led him to helm the Head of the Exhibition & Design at National Museum Art Gallery (NMAG) in 1975, and was subsequently promoted to Curator of Art from 1978 to 1985. During this time, Choy promoted museum cultures and practices in Singapore, and implemented ingenious museum designs he learnt while residing overseas.
Choy played an active part in forming a community of artists to search for the identity of Singaporean Art and in pushing boundaries of traditional art movements. Like fellow second-generation artists Teo Eng Seng (1938- and Anthony Poon (1945-2006), Choy introduced and brought the focus of abstract art to avid audiences. He gained recognition for the non-conventional methods of conveying unrestrained artistic expressions that redefined modernity of art, and laid the groundwork for nurturing new generations of artists in Singapore.
EDUCATION | |
1963 | Art Teachers' Certificate (U.K), University of London Institute of Education |
1962 | Graduate, Hornsey College of Art, London, U.K. |
AWARDS | |
1985 | Cultural tour of France by invitation of the Government of France |
1979 | Cultural tour of India by invitation of the Government of India |
1973 | UNESCO Fellowship in Creative Arts - Survey of Contemporary America Art and Research on Environment Arts, at the MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies, USA |
SOLO EXHIBITIONS | |
2008 | Vivid and Profound, Cape of Good Hope Gallery, Singapore |
2000 | Ambience, Theme and Variations, DP Space, Singapore |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS | |
2017 | Transcend: 50 Years of Singapore Modern Art, Singapore; Singapore Artists in the States: Wong Keen, Goh Beng Kwan, Zhuang Sheng Tao and Choy Weng Yang, Singapore |
2015 | Legacy Progression: Singapore-China Art Exhibition, Beijing, China, and Singapore |
2014 | A Changed World: Singapore Art 1950s-1970s, Singapore; New Works - Choy Weng Yang, Tan Teo Kwang, Yeo Hoe Koon, Singapore |
2011 | Exchange 2011: Singapore-China Art Show, Singapore |
2010 | Choy Weng Yang and Jolly Koh: Master Works from 2 Modern Painters, Singapore |
2009 | Exploring the Boundary, Malaysia and Singapore |
2007 | ARTSingapore 2007 - The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore; Unique 9,Singapore |
2006 | ARTSingapore 2006 - The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore |
2005 | ARTSingapore 2005 - The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore |
2004 | City Inspirations, Singapore |
2002 | The Contemporary Asian Art Fair, Singapore |
1998 | Windows - Recent Paintings by 3 Singapore Artists, Singapore |
1996 | Line Perceptions - Recent Drawings by 6 Artists, Singapore |
1994 | Art of the Nude, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, Singapore |
1985 | Singapore Artist - Salon des Artistes Francais, Paris, France |
1972 | Singapore Art - Adelaide Festival of Arts, Adelaide, Australia |