Teng Nee Cheong, Tattoo-Man Series Untitled in/V#4(178), Undated

Oil and gold leaf on canvas laid on masonite board
130 x 163 cm
Condition: Very good
Certificate of Authenticity from the Estate of Teng Nee Cheong available.

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Where Teng Nee Cheong's charcoal studies were drawn from life and stripped to line and gesture, his oils translated the nude into another register entirely: colour, pattern and ornament, the figure set among flowers, fruit and textiles drawn from Balinese mythology, Hinduism and Buddhism. This is the lavish, decorative Teng, the figure worked into a surface of gold and glitter, richly patterned and almost devotional in its density. Though the charcoal drawings fed directly into these paintings, Teng described them as independent works that also served as templates, and where the drawings are quiet and private, the oils are made to dazzle.

This more decorative, finished treatment of the nude was also the side of his practice that reached the public. Unlike the drawings, which stayed largely in the studio, these oils were exhibited during his lifetime and entered institutional collections.

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Teng Nee Cheong 邓尔昌 (Singaporean, 1951–2013) studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (1966–1968) under the influence of mentors like Georgette Chen and Ng Yat Chuan. Throughout his career, Teng demonstrated mastery across oil, pastel and charcoal, though it is his intimate still lifes that reveal a quieter, more contemplative strand of his practice.

In these early to mid‑career works, Teng imbued everyday produce with both formality and lyricism. Teng’s still lifes occupy an important place within his wider oeuvre, bridging his training in Nanyang figure and local landscape traditions with the more ornate, symbolic narratives he later developed. They demonstrate his capacity for attentive observation and formal refinement, serving as foundational studies in colour, shape and composition.

Teng’s early career laid the groundwork for what would become a highly individual and expressive body of work. In 1978, he received the Ministry of Culture Special Award, marking a moment of national recognition that affirmed his artistic direction. While he would go on to explore identity and queerness in later decades, his earlier works already signalled enduring interests in visual storytelling, ornamentation, and cultural synthesis—elements that would come to define his singular artistic language.

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Teng Nee Cheong, Tattoo Series: Tattooed Nocturne Laid Bare, 2008
Oil on canvas
Collection of the National Gallery Singapore

Teng Nee Cheong, Untitled, 2004
Charcoal on paper
Courtesy of the Estate of Teng Nee Cheong

(Photographed in May 2026)

Oil and gold leaf on canvas laid on masonite board
130 x 163 cm
Condition: Very good
Certificate of Authenticity from the Estate of Teng Nee Cheong available.

-

Where Teng Nee Cheong's charcoal studies were drawn from life and stripped to line and gesture, his oils translated the nude into another register entirely: colour, pattern and ornament, the figure set among flowers, fruit and textiles drawn from Balinese mythology, Hinduism and Buddhism. This is the lavish, decorative Teng, the figure worked into a surface of gold and glitter, richly patterned and almost devotional in its density. Though the charcoal drawings fed directly into these paintings, Teng described them as independent works that also served as templates, and where the drawings are quiet and private, the oils are made to dazzle.

This more decorative, finished treatment of the nude was also the side of his practice that reached the public. Unlike the drawings, which stayed largely in the studio, these oils were exhibited during his lifetime and entered institutional collections.

-

Teng Nee Cheong 邓尔昌 (Singaporean, 1951–2013) studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (1966–1968) under the influence of mentors like Georgette Chen and Ng Yat Chuan. Throughout his career, Teng demonstrated mastery across oil, pastel and charcoal, though it is his intimate still lifes that reveal a quieter, more contemplative strand of his practice.

In these early to mid‑career works, Teng imbued everyday produce with both formality and lyricism. Teng’s still lifes occupy an important place within his wider oeuvre, bridging his training in Nanyang figure and local landscape traditions with the more ornate, symbolic narratives he later developed. They demonstrate his capacity for attentive observation and formal refinement, serving as foundational studies in colour, shape and composition.

Teng’s early career laid the groundwork for what would become a highly individual and expressive body of work. In 1978, he received the Ministry of Culture Special Award, marking a moment of national recognition that affirmed his artistic direction. While he would go on to explore identity and queerness in later decades, his earlier works already signalled enduring interests in visual storytelling, ornamentation, and cultural synthesis—elements that would come to define his singular artistic language.

-

Teng Nee Cheong, Tattoo Series: Tattooed Nocturne Laid Bare, 2008
Oil on canvas
Collection of the National Gallery Singapore

Teng Nee Cheong, Untitled, 2004
Charcoal on paper
Courtesy of the Estate of Teng Nee Cheong

(Photographed in May 2026)

Artwork located in: Singapore