Chen Wen Hsi

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Chen.
Chen Wen Hsi
陈文希
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
1987: The First ASEAN Cultural Ad Communication Award
1992: Meritious Public Service Award
(Posthumous)

Chen Wen Hsi (simplified Chinese: 陈文希; traditional Chinese: 陳文希; pinyin: Chén Wénxī; 1906–1991) was a Chinese-born Singaporean artist, known for his avant-garde Chinese paintings.

Early life and education

Chen was born in Jieyang, Guangdong, China, and had his early education at Chen Li Primary School and St. Joseph Middle School.[1]

After graduation from secondary school, Chen 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 where he became acquainted with Chen Jen Hao, Chen Chong Swee and Liu Kang, all of whom were to become Singapore's Nanyang pioneer artists and art educationists. After four years at Xinhua, Chen graduated and returned to Jieyang.

Career

After getting married in Jieyang, Chen went to

Saigon (1948), Hong Kong (1949), Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur (1949), and Bangkok-Singapore (1950).[1]

In 1948, Chen arrived in Singapore, where he originally planned to stay for not more than three months. After his visa expired he was convinced by fellow artists such as Liu Kang, and then commissioner general Malcolm MacDonald to stay.[2]

In Singapore, he proceeded to teach art at

customs of Bali and Java. In June 1955, Chen took part in a seven-artist group exhibition organised by the Singapore Art Society.[1]

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.

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. In Chen's exhibition held in May 1956, Sullivan noted his fascination for man-made things and clutter. The artist loved to experiment with the interplay of light and forms in chaotic subjects, like a

Picasso and Salvador Dalí.[1]

Chen was also interested in human figures. He also did not see that humans are complex with distortions and conflicts, but merely a pattern of images, yet not like a pieced jigsaw puzzle. His interest was especially in local Indian people, particularly blue-collared workers and dairymen working in cattle yards; the geometric forms of Indian women dancers was an ideal subject of study for the artist.[1]

Chen's mastery in depicting human figures was also found in keen observation of

Southern Song dynasty artist Muqi.[4]

Awed by its lifelike quality, he was convinced with Muqi's great skill in close observation of the gibbons. So day and night, Chen studied Muqi's print and emulated the painting. Chen had never seen a gibbon when he was in China, and as a result he did not realise that gibbons, unlike monkeys, lacked tails.

It was only much later in the late-1940s, that a foreigner pointed out his error in his painting, and corrected him. Around that time, he had bought a

white faced gibbon for $300 at a local pet shop shortly after he arrived in Singapore.[5] 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.[5]

Honours

For his contributions to the fine arts in Singapore,

Public Service Star
in 1964.

Chen's artistic endeavours have also made history by being the first artist with a number of first honours conferred on him. In 1975, Chen was conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the then-Chancellor of the University of Singapore, and President of Singapore, Benjamin Sheares. In 1980, he became the first Singaporean artist to be invited, and conferred with the Golden Chapter gold medal award, by the National Museum of History in Taiwan. He was also the first recipient of the ASEAN Cultural and Communications Award for outstanding artists, in 1987.[6]

After his death in 1991 at age 85, Chen was awarded a

posthumous Meritorious Service Medal
.

See also

Further reading

  • "Chen Wen Hsi". Art forum. Archived from the original on 24 June 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
  • "Chen Wen Hsi, Dr". Biotechnics.org. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  • "Chen Wen Hsi". Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
  • "Singapore Infopedia: Chen Wen Hsi". National Library Board. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
  • "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. Archived from the original
    on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2007.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Sullivan, Frank J. "The art of Chen Wen Hsi". Chen Wen Hsi: exhibition of paintings, organized by Singapore Art Society, May 4–13, 1956. Singapore: Hiap Seng Press.
  2. ^ "All About Singapore Painter Chen Wen Hsi [1906 to 1991]". Chen Wen Hsi. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  3. ISBN 978-0-300-09447-3
    .
  4. ISBN 978-981-05-5195-7
    .
  5. ^ a b "Chen Wen Hsi – Eight Gibbons Frolicking in the Woods". Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Dr Chen Wen Hsi: artist". Singapore Tatler (August 1990). Singapore: 54.
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