Follow Nature
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” – Rachel Carson
Wei-Ling Contemporary is pleased to announce Cheong Kiet Cheng’s sixth solo exhibition, ‘Follow Nature‘. With over a decade of painting experience, the Malaysian artist has evolved from using watercolours to employing intricate linework and inking techniques, as seen in her works from ‘Dust and the Silence in the Sun‘ (2019) to ‘The Last Star Before the Dawn‘ (2023).
Cheong Kiet Cheng’s art is deeply influenced by a decade of Zazen meditation, focusing on nature and depicting life’s journey from a Buddhist perspective. This exhibition will, for the first time in her career, feature live painting sessions accompanied by Zen meditation music, known to enhance concentration and emotional regulation.
Each painting takes about a month to complete, with Kiet Cheng dedicating four to five hours daily to painting on-site at the gallery. This precise attention to detail allows audiences to observe her process closely as she works directly on the canvas laid out on the ground. The exhibition, aptly titled ‘Follow Nature’, showcases her technique of splattering colors across the canvas before meticulously drawing animals and characters inspired by the natural shapes that emerge.
During these live painting sessions, Kiet Cheng will demonstrate her methods by completing a piece, blending the contemplative aspects of her process with a performative element. Her years of dedication have refined her craft, allowing her to enter a state where creativity and meditation merge seamlessly.
“I first render a large area on a blank canvas, then I use my eyes to carefully observe the rendering details. I can see many animals and people, and then I draw them one by one according to the shadows I see. The purpose of my live painting is mainly to make my creative process public. It’s just like when we look at the white clouds in the sky; sometimes they look like dragons, sometimes like rabbits. The principle is the same,” explains Cheong Kiet Cheng.
Kiet Cheng describes painting as a visual experience of light, believing that this approach fosters a deeper understanding of artistic expression between the artist and her audience, and aims to educate the public on the beauty of art and the authentic process of creation.
‘Follow Nature‘ is featured at Wei-Ling Contemporary from 8 – 29 June 2024.
Wei-Ling Contemporary is located at 2nd Floor, Wei-Ling Gallery Annexe, No 8, Jalan Scott, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Admission hours are Tuesday – Friday 10am – 6pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm.
Exhibition is open by appointment only. For appointments and further assistance, please contact +60322601106 or e-mail siewboon@weiling-gallery.com
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in 1981, Cheong Kiet Cheng’s paintings have consistently highlighted the relationship between humans and nature. Although the situations she creates seem to convey over-riding feelings of beauty and love, the underlying elements of tension between the human and animal figures emphasise that imperfection is unavoidable. Yet, one is still likely to find a tranquility within each of her works – an effect she achieves through a unique method of meditative, repetitive forms. As an artist, she is most interested in sharing positive energy through her work, rather than conforming to the conventional aesthetics in art.
Cheong Kiet Cheng is unrestricted by any particular medium, choosing instead to experiment with materials- from acrylic paints in earlier bodies of work to black ink in her latest series.-which allows her to evolve into new discoveries. The romantic quality of her work is a direct result of her own personal feelings towards nature, drawing much of her inspiration from philosophy, literature, poetry, music and theatrical drama.
She has won several major awards and prizes over the years, including the main prize at the 2018 UOB Painting of the Year (Malaysia) competition; Creative M50 Awards in Shanghai, China (2016); Nanjing International Art Festival Competition in China (2015); Water Color Category at Tanjong Public Limited Company, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2006). Cheong Kiet Cheng was also the recipient of the esteemed UOB-Fukuoka Asian Art Museum’s Artists Residency Programme in 2018, where she spent two months expanding on her practice in Japan.
She has participated in a number of solo and group exhibitions both within Asia and in Malaysia. Her last solo exhibition ‘The Last Star Before the Dawn’, was held at Wei-Ling Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (2023).