RepGuardian

Chen Wen Hsi was born in China and began his art training in 1928 at the Shanghai College of Art. Family members objected to this study but Chen was not affected and continued to become one of the most influential painters of Singapore. Unhappy with College of Art he switched schools, an act that forever changed his life as well as the world of art. While studying at the Xinhuea Fine Art College he met three men with whom he would not only know the rest of his life, but who together they would all eventually be known as the founding fathers of the school of thought and painting known as Nanyang. Once he graduated and got married he moved back to his home town where painted and taught for about a year there. He left for Singapore in 1948. He had only planned to stay for a few months, to experience the five star Singapore cafes and streets and for inspiration for his work. He ended up living there for the rest of his life. He traveled throughout Southeast Asia frequently but always returned to Singapore.

Chen painted with oil and Chinese ink. He was known to experiment with style, sometimes with Cubism influences or abstract ideas. He was however a figure painter, a landscape painter, a nature painter. His eye saw patterns, and not complexities. Painting from life is difficult when the complexity of form overwhelms the eyes and the mind. He saw subjects much differently however. He did not take the Western approach to cubism to the extreme as Dali did, but would take from it the variety of the style necessary to satisfy what he was wanting to say. He was known for his delicate touch and his sensitivity to his subject matters. Many paintings of animals, gibbons to be specific, are some his most well known and loved pieces of work. He received many honors during his life time included the first local artist of Singapore to receive and honorary doctorate from the National University of Singapore. Chen passed away in 1992. He was posthumously given the Meritorious Service Medal for his contributions to the art world and to his dedication and devotion to the students he taught over the years.

Related posts:

1. Fun and Healing in Singapore
2. Top Attractions in Singapore
3. Lynn Lu performs Singapore
4. The Artist’s Singapore
5. Going Food Crazy in Singapore