Chen Wen Hsi

Short introduction

Chen Wen Hsi (Dr) was born in 1906, Guangdong, China. He was enrolled in Hsin Hwa Art Academy in Shanghai, under the tutorage of famous lecturers like Pan Tian Shou. It was then he forged strong friendships with other pioneering artists and art educationist in Singapore like him, such as Liu Kang, Chen Jen Hao and Chen Chong Swee. Leaving China in 1947, he traveled through Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia before arriving and settling in Singapore in 1948, where he taught in both NAFA and Chinese High School. He held 38 one-man exhibitions, in local and international locations, namely Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, London and Beijing, between 1923 and 1993.
Six decades of Art life, Chen wen Hsi is an artist who embodies the best of both eastern and Western art. He was proficient in various mediums, ranging from traditional Chinese ink to western oil painting. In addition, he was actively engaged in exploring a variety of styles including fauvism and cubism.
Why interesting?

His works embodied the Nanyang style where classical Chinese and Western influences unify together with the unique rich cultures and diverse ethnicity of South East Asia. His works are interestingly innovative where he explores these fusions to forge an art form with local identity. With this, he painted many powerful and varied compositions, ranging from still-lifes, where subjects revolved around nature and his surroundings, to paintings which explores various cultures and mediums, and to synthesis of western modern art and Chinese painting techniques with abstract art forms.

Aspects to zoom into..

I would look closely at The Nanyang style, where he used western aesthetics and techniques to supplement traditional Chinese art, to achieve the overall beauty and cohesion of his paintings.
Secondly, I would zoom into his choice of subjects for observation to represent the “local flavour” and their link to primitivism.

(300 words)