AOTM: Penghidupan Tersembunyi & Umum by Cheong Lai Tong

Calligraphy, by nature non-representational, was adapted selectively by artists of the New York School such as Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline in the 1950s–60s. The East Asian art of calligraphy informed calligraphic brush strokes and became an approach to the abstract painting of these American artists. Motherwell and Kline painted in a style similar to Zen Sumi-e painting, a Japanese style of brush painting, with the spontaneous linear character of calligraphy creating new forms and giving new definitions to their works. 

In Malaysia, Cheong Lai Tong uses Chinese calligraphy as a source of imagery to convey his emotions and feelings. In his earlier years, Cheong was influenced by old Chinese masters of calligraphy. Later, he left for Skowhegan School, America and LCC Central Art School, London to pursue formal art education in 1960 and 1961 respectively. His education overseas had a profound impact on his art throughout his entire life. When Cheong returned to Malaysia, he began exploring and experimenting with abstraction in pursuit of his own style. 

In Penghidupan Tersembunyi & Umum, Cheong Lai Tong converts the characteristics of Chinese calligraphy into devices for gestural, improvisation, and spontaneity effects. The wild, vigorous black brush strokes reveal the characteristic of Chinese calligraphy, “kuáng cǎo”, which is identical to Mark Tobey’s White Writing. In appearance, Penghidupan Tersembunyi & Umum shows rhythmic counterposed strokes and layering grounds of colour, expressing highly the method of free association. The dense, black strokes on the right contrast with the release strokes on the left, reflecting two different rooms. These energetic strokes strive vigorously in the blues and bright ground, giving a sense of confrontation between inner and external circumstances. Yet, it remains a strong and arrogant stance. 

The calligraphic brush strokes of Penghidupan Tersembunyi & Umum demonstrate the spontaneous gesture of the artist’s hand, as Cheong incorporates a fusion of Eastern and Western aesthetic influences in his abstraction pursuits.