The exhibition Chen Wen Hsi: Devotion to Nature showcases 19 ink works that reflect the Singapore pioneer master’s lifelong fascination with exploring the essence of nature and life through themes of animals and landscapes.
Born in Guangdong, China, Chen Wen Hsi (b. 1906 – d. 1991) is considered one of Singapore’s most important pioneer artists and art educators. Growing up in China, he was exposed to traditional Chinese ink painting and calligraphy at a young age and enrolled at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts in 1926. Later in Shanghai, he transferred to the Xinhua Academy of Fine Arts where he was inspired by some of China’s most talented artists of the period. He was trained in Western modern art and continued his study of Chinese painting under Pan Tianshou, from whom he also learnt the extremely rare and erudite Chinese finger-painting tradition.
By the time of his arrival in Singapore in 1949, Chen Wen Hsi’s proficiency in both Chinese and Western pictorial styles enabled him to synthesise and evolve artistic expressions that cleverly straddle between East-West modern aesthetics. In 1952, after the historic Bali painting trip with fellow artist-educators Cheong Soo Pieng, Liu Kang and Chen Chong Swee, he invigorated the Singapore art scene by pioneering the Nanyang art style and modernising Chinese ink aesthetics throughout his lifetime.
Chen Wen Hsi’s paintings of animals and landscapes reveal not only his strong foundation in traditional Chinese painting but also the artist’s constant innovation in overturning its strict formalism. One of his ink compositions, Two Gibbons Amidst Vines, can be seen on the back of our Singapore $50 note.
Venue: artcommune gallery, 76 Bras Basah Road, #01-01 Singapore 189558
When: 11 - 27 Apr 2025, 12noon - 7pm
