Artist Biography

Dr Cheah Thien Soong graduated from Singapore’s Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1962, where he was trained under Nanyang art pioneers such as Chen Wen Hsi, Georgette Chen, Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Chong Swee, and See Hiang To. In 2002, he was awarded a Doctorate of Art Philosophy at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. Cheah served as a lecturer of Chinese ink painting at the Malaysia Institute of Art from 1990 until 2002. He was the President of Cao Tang Men Eastern Arts Society; Honorary Director of the Oriental Art and Cultural Association; Specially-Appointed Artist of Nanjing Calligraphy and Painting Academy, China; Advisor of Guangxi Art Society, China; Honorary Director of Nanyang Painting Academy and Honorary Director of Asian Art Association.

Since the 1960s, Cheah held over 20 solo exhibitions in Malaysia and China. In 1993, he became the first Malaysian artist invited by the Chinese Ministry of Culture to present a solo show at the Beijing Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Nanjing Jiangsu Art Museum. In 2015, the National Art Gallery Malaysia launched his solo exhibition - “Cheah Thien Soong · Nanyang Ink Painting”, officiated by Ybhg. Tan Sri Dr. Rais Yatim, the socio-cultural advisor to the Malaysian government. Other notable solos include shows at Guangxi Arts Institute, China (1994); Maybank Art Gallery, KL (1997); Soobin Art Gallery, Singapore (1997 & 2001); Cui Zifan Art Museum, China (1999); Shandong Art Museum, China (2012); and Edsvik Konsthall Gallery, Sweden (2012). His recent solo, "Cheah Thien Soong: Emerging Untainted - An Inspiration from the Lotus Sutra," was held at Wisma Kebudayaan SGM, Kuala Lumpur (2019).

Cheah participated in numerous group shows across Malaysia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Canada, Singapore, and South Korea. Highlights included the National Art Gallery Malaysia (1963 & 1964); National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, which now holds his painting in its permanent collection (1988); Australian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur (1990); China Art Fair, Guangzhou (1993); Hong Kong Chinese Assembly Hall (1998); National Art Museum of China (2000); National Museum of Indonesia (2014); and Duo Yun Xuan Art Museum, Shanghai (2017). In 2013, Cheah received the “Salut 55” Honorary Award from the National Art Gallery Malaysia, and in 2019, he was featured on the Nasdaq billboard in Times Square, New York. His artwork is part of the collection of National Art Gallery Malaysia.

谢忝宋，原名谢天送，后由恩师施香沱改名为“谢梅”，出道后取“忝向宋人学习”之意，名字更为“忝宋”。又因其姓“谢”可分解为“寸身言”，而“忝”字上下分别为“天”和“心”，常自称“寸身言天心”或“天心”。1962年毕业于新加坡南洋美专，期间师从著名艺术名家如陈文希、张荔英、钟泗宾、陈宗瑞、施香沱等名师。2002年获得美国美联大学艺术哲学博士学位。曾任马来西亚艺术学院水墨画科主任。现任草堂门金石书画会会长、东方人文艺术馆名誉馆长、南京书画院特聘画师、广西美协顾问、南洋画院名誉院长，及亚洲美术家协会名誉主席。

自1960年代起，谢忝宋成功举办了超过20次个人画展。1993年，他受中国文化部和中央美院邀请，成为首位在北京中央美院陈列馆展览的马来西亚艺术家，同年在南京江苏美术馆展出。2015年，马来西亚国家画廊为他举办“谢忝宋 · 南洋水墨”个展，由政府社会文化事务顾问Tan Sri Dr. Rais Yatim主持开幕。他的个展地点还包括在中国广西艺术学院（1994）；吉隆坡马来亚银行画廊（1997）；新加坡斯民艺苑（1997和2001）；中国青岛崔子范艺术馆（1999）；中国山东美术馆（2012）；瑞典Edsvik Konsthall画廊（2012）等。最近的个展是“如莲华在水”，于吉隆坡马来西亚创价学会综合文化中心举行（2019）。

谢忝宋曾参与无数海内外联展，展出地点遍及马来西亚、中国大陆、香港、台湾、日本、加拿大、新加坡及韩国。其中包括：马来西亚国家画廊（1963及1964）；台中国立美术馆，作品《悠悠河中游》被馆收藏（1988）；澳洲驻马大使馆（1990）；广州中国艺术博览会（1993）；香港大会堂（1998）；北京中国美术馆（2000）；印尼国家博物馆（2014）；以及上海朵云轩艺术中心（2017）。2013年，他获得马来西亚国家画廊颁发的SALUT 55视觉艺术表扬贡献奖。2019年，他登上了美国纽约时代广场的纳斯达克大屏幕。其作品被大马国家画廊收藏。