Choy Weng Yang

Choy Weng Yang (12 July 1930 – 7 August 2025; ) was a Singaporean visual artist, curator and writer on the a artd, and proponent of the art fraternity in post-independence Singapore. His literary contributions on post-modern arts in Singapore have helped shape the local contemporary art scene.

Life and career Born 12 July 1930 in Singapore, Choy graduated with a National Diploma of Art UK from Hornsey College of Art in 1962 and received the Art Teachers' Certificate (UK) from the University of London Institute of Education in 1963. In his years as a student in London, he had many opportunities to study the works of great modern artists like Picasso and Mondrian, through visits to other European cities. These opportunities to travel shaped his knowledge of art and his aesthetic development for his art in the years that were to come. In his professional capacity he served actively for the arts circle, receiving acclamation for his art criticisms for artists and writings about local artistic movements. Choy's passion for painting never left him despite his heavy work commitments, and actively participated in group art shows in Australia and Paris. In 1982, Choy contributed to an article on Singapore art, and published in the very first Singapore art directory, titled "Singaporean artists". This book was officially launched at the 1982 National Day Art Exhibition, by the then Minister of State for Culture, Major Fong Sip Chee, on 16 August 1982.

His exposures to western art during his curatorship tenure enabled him to develop his artistic side. In the early years he was particularly influenced by the works by Monet, for the light and colour in his paintings. Progressively he found that using light and colour alone on his canvas was not enough in his own compositions. Cézanne's use of structure in his composition, and Mondrian's strength in order, clarity and strong composition design thus became an important elements in Choy's paintings from 1985 on.

Major exhibitions