Artist and former curator of art at National Museum Choy Weng Yang dies at 95

SINGAPORE – Second-generation artist Choy Weng Yang, who was the first art-practising art curator at the National Museum of Singapore from 1978 to 1985, died in Alexandra Hospital on Aug 7 at 1.47am. He was 95.

Choy, who was awarded a scholarship to study art in London in 1960, is best known for his abstract experimentation with colour. Among his most recognisable paintings is the hard-edged geometrical tessellation of Horizontals I (1977) in the National Gallery Singapore.

In his later years, he suffered from heart and kidney issues, but still frequently visited Bras Basah Complex to discuss art with fellow artists and collectors. He continued sketching even in his hospital bed.

His nephew, theatre veteran Jeremiah Choy, 63, was his caregiver since before the Covid-19 pandemic. He said his uncle was hospitalised for a minor issue which escalated into a series of health episodes.

“My uncle was very independent and active. His mental faculty was still sharp,” he told The Straits Times. By Aug 1, his health had deteriorated. “My cousin and I decided to opt for comfort rather than survival.”

About his uncle, who was single, he said: “He’s very private. But a lot of people came to visit. He’s well loved in the arts community. He was very kind and open. He would help whenever family and friends were in need. He was principled and always knew what he wanted.”

Friends said Choy Weng Yang was always ready with a new thesis about the quality of art and that they, without fail, learnt much from him in their conversations.

Former Singapore Art Museum director Kwok Kian Chow said it was Choy’s 1980s presentation of the Singapore Pioneer Artists’ series at the National Museum Art Gallery that cemented the place of Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng, Cheng Chong Swee and Liu Kang as defining artists in Singapore’s art history.

Choy also played a foundational role in building up the national art collection in its early years, negotiating with artists’ – hard – to get them to donate works of quality to the country when they were selected for exhibitions.

Mr Kwok said: “As an artist, his approach was always practice-led. He not only painted, but also practised craft, design and so on. There was a deep sense of quality in how he selected works – it was his signature.”

Choy famously did not own a phone, so friends in search of him waited in places where he frequented, such as in food centres near Stirling Road where he lived, and Nanyang Gallery in Bras Basah Complex.

In his own art, Choy drew heavily from Western artists, including the lilies of Claude Monet – inspiring his own lilies series – the colour theory of Josef Albers and the clean formal abstract composition of Piet Mondrian.

But interpretations of his work should not be limited to these Western models, Mr Kwok said. “I wouldn’t be too concerned about the -isms. He was interested in colour, form, textures, and gestures. His paintings were a reflection of his whole life.”

Veteran arts journalist Teo Han Wue, who first met Choy while he was reporting on the nascent Singapore arts scene at the National Museum Art Gallery, said the artist-curator was always kind and generous with his knowledge.

After he retired, he continued walking everywhere and made it a point to support artists at exhibition openings.

As recently as 2024, South Korean gallery The Columns Gallery staged a solo of Choy’s works, titled Colours Of Emotions: Choy Weng Yang. The exhibition of these more recent paintings from 2023 and 2024 was a restless display of dots, lines and spaces, dashed and daubed in a dervish whirlwind over whole canvases.

Mr Teo said: “It was a new phase of his career. I wish he had done more.”

Born on July 12, 1930, Choy studied painting at the Hornsey College of Art in London and as an art teacher at the University of London Institute of Education on a Ministry of Education scholarship.

Back in Singapore in 1963, he joined the Teachers’ Training College as an assistant lecturer in the Arts & Crafts Department while continuing to paint and exhibit.

He was the only one of his generation to receive a Unesco fellowship for the creative arts in 1973 and toured the United States. Singapore artist Wong Keen helped him settle in and arranged a visit to the studio of German-American bauhaus artist-educator Albers – a lasting influence.

Choy then took on the role of curator of art at the National Museum of Singapore in 1978, where he also staged solos of international artists like Zao Wou-Ki and Henri Cartier-Bresson. These exhibitions are still cited by curators and artists for allowing those who had limited opportunity to travel to view international art, and for kick-starting Singapore’s ambitions as a South-east Asian hub to see quality art.

Choy stepped down in 1985 to return to his first love – painting – and tirelessly contributed to arts scholarship by writing on second-generation artists such as Anthony Poon and his friend Teo Eng Seng.

National Arts Council chief executive Low Eng Teong was deeply saddened by the passing of Choy, “a pioneering artist, curator, arts writer and educator”.

“He left an indelible mark on our arts scene. Practising for more than six decades, his paintings and writings have resonated with many and inspired generations of artists. I will miss seeing him at exhibition openings, always with his thoughtful comments and warm smile,” Mr Low said.

The National Gallery Singapore paid tribute in a LinkedIn post, noting that Choy’s quiet generosity shaped generations and that he reinterpreted Western modernist traditions through a South-east Asian lens. “He also championed the wider art community, supporting ground-up spaces, art societies and fellow artists – both his peers and younger talents.”

Artist Boo Sze Yang visited Choy in hospital on Aug 2 and said the artist, when he was lucid, continued to be obsessed with art.

Choy’s nephew, Jeremiah, happened to be wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt and the artist, after a drink of water, immediately began sketching the scene with colour pencil and paper.

Boo, Choy and artist-architect Kum Chee Kin were in the midst of planning a group exhibition – Abstract Across Generations – at The Private Museum, scheduled for the second quarter of 2026.

Artist Wong Keen also paid tribute and said of Choy: “A true artist and art lover – from beginning to end, he held true to his singular passion. His thoughts were always on the composition.”

Choy’s wake is on Level 2 of Singapore Casket from Aug 7 to 10. The funeral is on Aug 10 at 11am.