Chen Wen Hsi
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- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chen (陈).
| Chen Wen Hsi (陈文希) | |
| Born | 1906 Baigong,Guangdong,China |
| Died | 1992 Singapore |
| Nationality | Singaporean |
| Field | Oil Painting, Drawing, Chinese ink painting, |
| Training | Shanghai College of Art, Xinhua College of Art Pan TianShou |
| Movement | Fauvism, Cubism |
| Awards | 1964: Public Service Star 1975: Honorary degree of Doctor of Letters, National University of Singapore (NUS) 1980: Gold Medal, The National Museum of History, Taipei, Taiwan |
Chen Wen Hsi (simplified Chinese: 陈文希; pinyin: Chén Wénxī), is one of Singapore's pioneer artists, known for his avant-garde Chinese paintings.
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[edit] Education
After graduation from secondary school, Chen Wen Hsi decided to study full time in fine art at the Shanghai College of Art in 1928, despite his uncle's objection. Unhappy with the college, Chen transferred to the Xinhua College of Art in Shanghai, where he was taught by renowned artists such as Pan Tianshou, with half of his classmates a year later. It was at Xinhua that he became acquainted with Chen Jen Hao, Chen Chong Swee and Liu Kang, all of whom were to become Singapore's pioneer artists and art educationists. After four years at Xinhua, Chen graduated and returned to his hometown.
[edit] Career
After getting married at his hometown, Chen Wen Hsi went to South China College at Shantou in China to teach fine art from 1946 to 1947. He also founded the Chun Yang Painting Society there.
Chen's paintings were exhibited in Shantou, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 1937, he received the recognition and praise of Chinese painter Xu Beihong at the second Chinese National Art Exhibition in Nanjing. In the same year, an English arts magazine elected him as one of contemporary China's ten greatest artists.
Chen left China in 1947, and travelled through Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. In 1948, Chen arrived and settled in Singapore, where he originally planned to stay for not more than three months. In Singapore, he proceeded to teach art at the Chinese High School (1949-1968) and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (1951-1959). Chen travelled to various places in Southeast Asia to collect drawing materials during his vacations, and he was especially inspired by the people and customs of Bali and Java.
In 1968, Chen retired from teaching, and decided to concentrate on drawing. Between 1923 and 1992, he conducted 38 one-man exhibitions in Singapore and other countries such as China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
[edit] Style
Chen was proficient in both traditional Chinese ink and Western oil painting, and experimented with a variety of styles ranging from Fauvism to Cubism.
He was also a keen observer of nature and an animal lover; his subjects include landscapes, figures, birds and animals, still life studies and abstract compositions. Chen was especially adept at drawing egrets and monkeys.
Among all the animal paintings by him, Chen's gibbon paintings stand out, as they were noted by Chen's attention to detail and sensitive rendering of the beautiful creatures. His first inspiration from painting gibbons came from a reproduction of a gibbon painting that formed the right triptych of the famous painting, White Robed Guanyin, Crane and Gibbon[1] by the 13th century Southern Song Dynasty Chinese artist Mu Xi (牧溪)[2]
Awed by its lifelike quality, he was convinced with Mu Xi's great skill in close observation of the gibbons. So day and night, Chen studied Mu Xi's print and emulated the painting. Chen had never seen a gibbon when he was in China, and as a result he did not realize that gibbons, unlike monkeys, had no tails!
It was only much later in the late-1940s, that a foreigner pointed out his error in his painting, and corrected him. At around then, he had bought a white faced gibbon for $300 at a local pet shop shortly after he arrived in Singapore. This gave him immense opportunities to study the creature's postures and its characteristics, by rearing it in his home garden. In time, Chen had a total of six pet gibbons - one white, one grey and four black ones.[3]
[edit] Honours
For his contributions to the fine arts in Singapore, President Yusof Ishak conferred Chen the Public Service Star in 1964. In 1975, the National University of Singapore conferred Chen an honorary doctorate, and Chen became the first local artist to be given the honour.
Chen was also awarded the Golden Chapter by the Taiwan National Museum in 1980, and the first ASEAN Cultural and Communication Award in 1987.
After his death in 1992, Chen was awarded a posthumous Meritorious Service Medal.
[edit] Gallery
 Herons (1990), Singapore Art Museum. |
 Malay Girls (undated), Singapore Art Museum. |
[edit] References
- Chen Wen Hsi. Art forum. Retrieved on 2007-07-16.
- Chen Wen Hsi, Dr. Biotechnics.org. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- Chen Wen Hsi. Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
- Singapore Infopedia: Chen Wen Hsi. National Library Board. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
- Speech by Dr Lee Boon Yang at the Opening of the "Convergences: Chen Wen Hsi Centennial Exhibition" on 30 November 2006. Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
