1917
Born in Xiamen
1933 - 1935
Studied under Lim Hak Tai in Xiaman Academy of Fine Arts
1936
Moved to Shanghai, studied at Xinhua Academy of Fine Arts
1937
Studies stopped due to war
1942
First solo exhibition of watercolours in China
1945
Left China and visited Hong Kong and Taiwan, stayed in Macau for 6 months
1946
Moved to Singapore
1947
Started lecturing at NAFA, taught landscapes, still lifes, and figure composition in oil, watercolour, and ink media
1948
Started teaching at Chinese High School
1951
23 Nov -2 Dec: Participated in An Exhibition of Paintings by Four Singapore Artists: Liu Kang, Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi, Chong Soo Pieng, organized by the Singapore Art Society and held in the British Council
1952
June - Aug: Trip to Bali
1953
7 - 15 Nov: Participated in the landmark exhibition Four Artists in Bali
1955
18 July: Exhibited in Imperial Institute of London, organised by Singapore Art Society
1956
9 Oct: Yi Zheng’s article ‘Notes on Malayan Painter Cheong Soo Pieng’ was published
in Nanyang Siang Pau
1956
11 - 20 Oct: Held solo exhibition Cheong Soo Pieng: Singapore Art Society at the British Council Gallery, sponsored by the Singapore Art Society and opened by Loke Wan
1956
13 Oct: Marco Hsu’s article ‘The Starting Point of Soo Pieng’s Practice’ was published
in Nanyang Siang Pau
1956
15 Oct: Cai Wenchou’s article ‘Thoughts After Viewing Cheong Soo Pieng’s Exhibition’ published in Sinchew Jit Poh
1956
23 Oct: Michael Sullivan’s translated article ‘Cheong Soo Pieng’s Paintings’ published in
Nanyang Siang Pau
1956
11- 14 Dec: Held a solo exhibition of 120 paintings in British Council, Kuala Lumpur, sponsored by the Federation of Malaya Arts Council
1957
5 - 17 Jan: Held solo exhibition of 150 paintings in Hui Aun Association, Penang, sponsored by Penang Arts Council
1959
- A 17x15ft painting commissioned for $3,000 by Telephone Board to be hung in City Exchange Building was exhibited at Singapore Constitution Exposition
- Visited Sarawak and held an exhibition in Borneo
1961
Visited Sabah
Stopped lecturing at NAFA and Chinese High School
1961
18 Oct: Left Singapore for Europe
1962
Travelled through London, Cornwall, Scotland, Luxembourg, Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Rome, and Munich
1962
14 - 28 March: Held solo exhibition at Frost & Reed Gallery, London
1962
2 Nov:
- Held solo exhibition at Galerie Schöniger, Munich
- Represented Singapore at Commonwealth Art Today organized by SAS, held at Commonwealth Institute in London
- Awarded the Meritorious Service Medal
- Christopher Salvesen reviewed Soo Pieng’s exhibition in The Arts Review
1963
Feb: Featured in Free World magazine
1963
23 April - 17 May: Held solo exhibition at Redfern Gallery, London
1963
June: Held solo exhibition at Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford
1963
19 July: Returned to Singapore
1963
30 Oct - 7 Nov: Held solo exhibition at Victoria Memorial Hall, organized by Singapore Art Society, opened by Loke Wan Tho
1963
30 Oct: Cao Shuming’s article ‘The Creative Style of Artist Cheong Soo Pieng’, published in the Nanyang Siang Pau
1963
31 Oct: Frank Sullivan’s feature ‘The man half-way across the bridge’ was published.
1963
4 Nov: Chen Xuehong’s feature ‘Review of Cheong Soo Pieng’s exhibition’ was published in Sinchew Jit Poh.
1964
Jan: Held solo exhibition at Chatham Galleries, Hong Kong
1964
3 - 8 June: Set up studio at 28A Zion Road, Singapore 1024.
Held small exhibition to mark the occasion
1964
29 July - 8 Aug: Held solo exhibition at British Council Centre, Kuala Lumpur, organised by Arts Council Malaysia
1965
7 paintings were exhibited in the Malaysian Art Exhibition at Commonwealth Arts Festival in Glasgow (Sept) and Dublin (Nov)
1966
Exhibited in Malaysian Art Exhibition in London (Jan), Cologne (April/May), Berlin (Jul/Aug), Hamburg (Sep/Oct).
1966
9 - 16 Aug: Held solo exhibition at Samat Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1967
Exhibited in Malaysian Art Exhibition in St. Etienne (Jan) and Paris (Apr)
1967
1 - 28 Feb: Held solo exhibition and first retrospective Twenty Years of His Art in National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, exhibiting 250 works
1967
21 - 26 April: Exhibited in Sculpture 67, Singapore’s first sculpture show,
at the National Library, Singapore
1967
26 July - 12 Aug: Held solo exhibition of 30 paintings at Rudy Koman Gallery, Sydney, sponsored by Malaysia-Singapore Airlines and Rudy Koman Galleries of Sydney
1968
- Held solo exhibition at Grand Centre Art Gallery, Brisbane.
- Exhibited at Five Singapore Sculptors, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.
- Exhibited at Works of 68, Samat Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
1969
1 - 4 Nov: Exhibited at Second Singapore Sculpture Exhibition, Victoria Memorial Hall
1971
17 Oct: Exhibited at Alpha Gallery’s inaugural 12-man exhibition
1972
16 Sept: Exhibited at 12-man exhibition at Alpha Art Gallery, commemorating the Gallery’s
first anniversary
1974
1 - 15 June:
- Held solo exhibition at Rising Art Gallery, Telok Ayer
- Exhibited in ASEAN Mobile Art and Photographic exhibition
1976
6 Nov - 5 Dec: Exhibited in Sculpture, National Museum Art Gallery
1977
Held solo exhibition in East & West Art, Victoria, Australia; Hilton Hotel Gallery, Melbourne; Manyung Gallery, Mount Eliza
1978
9 - 28 Aug: Exhibited in Singapore Artists Art Exhibition in Friendship House, Moscow
1979
Visited China
1980
- Article ‘Building a Nanyang School of Art’ published in Sinchew Jit Poh.
- Held solo exhibition at Alpha Art Gallery, Taipei
1980
11- 19 Oct: Held solo exhibition at British Council, Singapore
1980
7 July: Exhibited in 5-Man Exhibition, National Museum Art Gallery
1980
16 Nov: Chen Xuehong’s article ‘Reading Mr. Cheong Soo Pieng’s Paintings’ was published
in Nanyang Siang Pau
1981
- Held solo exhibition at National Art Gallery, Taipei
- T. K. Sabapathy’s article ‘Soo Pieng’s Style: The Nanyang Masters’ was published in
The Straits Times.
10 - 16 July: Exhibited in 6-Man Exhibition, National Museum Art Gallery
1981
1 July: Died of heart failure, buried at Choa Chu Kang Cemetery
1983
2 Aug:
- T. K. Sabapathy’s article ‘New Styles from a Turbulent Era’ was published in The Straits Times.
- Low Khee Choon’s article ‘Cheong Soo Pieng, who established the Nanyang School of Art’ was published in Lianhe Zaobao.
1983
11- 27 Nov:
- Paintings exhibited in Third Pioneer Artists of Singapore Exhibition
- Tan Tee Chie’s article ‘Thoughts on an Exhibition of the Late Cheong Soo Pieng’s Works’ published in Lianhe Zaobao.
- Cheong Soo Pieng Retrospective was held at the National Museum Art Gallery.