Ong Chye Cho

1916 - 1996, Singapore

Ong Chye Cho | 王再造  (b. 1916, Indonesia – d. 1996, Singapore) was a watercolourist who drew inspiration from Southeast Asian culture and landscapes.

Ong was born in Sumatra and moved to Penang where he joined the Penang Art Club in 1934. He served as the Chairman of the Kuching Art Club from 1950 to 1952. In 1954, Ong settled in Singapore and was elected Chairman of the Chinese YMCA Art Club in 1961.  He later co- founded the Singapore Watercolour Society in 1969 with Lim Cheng Hoe and Chen Chong Swee amongst others. Ong was the Vice President of the Singapore Watercolour Society (1969). His awards and accolades include the second prize in the Malaya Agri-horticultural Exhibition Kuala Lumpur (1938), the second prize in the Watercolour Competition of Ipoh (1942) and the first prize in the Grow More Food Poster Competition, Ipoh (1945).

Ong Chye Cho is regarded as one of the pioneers of watercolour painting in Singapore and his paintings have shown in solo and group exhibitions in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Ong’s solo exhibitions were at the Hyatt Regency (1976) and the Alliance Française (1988) in Singapore. Ong Chye Cho’s work Roses is in the Singtel collection.

Artwork