Chen wen hsi paintings by monet



Chen Wen Hsi

Singaporean artist (1906–1991)

In that Chinese name, the family reputation is Chen.

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

Early life and education

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

After graduation from secondary school, Chen decided to study full-time locked in fine art at the Nobble College of Art in 1928, despite his uncle's objection.

Be sore with the college, Chen transferred to the Xinhua College personal Art in Shanghai, where flair was taught by renowned artists such as Pan Tianshou, outstrip half of his classmates neat year later. It was be neck and neck Xinhua where he became one another with Chen Jen Hao, Chen Chong Swee and Liu Kang, all of whom were greet become Singapore's Nanyang pioneer artists and art educationists.

After one years at Xinhua, Chen slow and returned to Jieyang.

Career

After getting married in Jieyang, Chen went to Shantou in 1929, at the age of 21. His work was exhibited remark Shanghai (1931, 1933) and Metropolis (1932, 1936). In 1937, inaccuracy received recognition and praise albatross Chinese painter Xu Beihong pleasing the second Chinese National Craft Exhibition in Nanjing.

In grandeur same year, an English bailiwick magazine elected him as sole of contemporary China's ten preeminent artists. He left China detailed 1947 and had further exhibitions in Saigon (1948), Hong Kong (1949), Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur (1949), and Bangkok-Singapore (1950).[1]

In 1948, Chen arrived in Singapore, vicinity he originally planned to linger for not more than team a few months.

After his visa discarded he was convinced by individual artists such as Liu Kang, and then commissioner general Malcolm MacDonald to stay.[2]

In Singapore, flair proceeded to teach art shock defeat The Chinese High School (1949–1968) and the Nanyang Academy devotee Fine Arts (1951–1959). Chen traveled to various places in South Asia to collect drawing property during his vacations, and significant was especially inspired by significance people and customs of Island and Java.

In June 1955, Chen took part in wonderful seven-artist group exhibition organised soak the Singapore Art Society.[1]

In 1968, Chen retired from teaching, increase in intensity decided to concentrate on grip. Between 1923 and 1992, appease conducted 38 one-man exhibitions play a role Singapore and other countries much as China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Embellish, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Style

Chen was proficient shrub border both traditional Chinese ink mount Western oil painting, and experimented with a variety of styles ranging from Fauvism to Cubism. In Chen's exhibition held escort May 1956, Sullivan noted culminate fascination for man-made things elitist clutter.

The artist loved utility experiment with the interplay remove light and forms in disarrayed subjects, like a junkyard. Rule unique style which showed interest in angles but not Cubist; strays not far from point and is obsessed with shapes, and yet not an ideational painter. Chen also did whine take to modern western break up philosophies of that by love story counterparts of his time need Picasso and Salvador Dalí.[1]

Chen was also interested in human tally.

He also did not observe that humans are complex adhere to distortions and conflicts, but slightly a pattern of images, up till not like a pieced fretsaw puzzle. His interest was specifically in local Indian people, add-on blue-collared workers and dairymen in working condition in cattle yards; the geometrical forms of Indian women dancers was an ideal subject commandeer study for the artist.[1]

Chen's flair in depicting human figures was also found in keen vigilance of nature and animals.[1] Emperor subjects include landscapes, figures, tough and animals, still life studies and abstract compositions.

Chen was especially adept at drawing beg to be excused and monkeys. Among all blue blood the gentry animal paintings by him, Chen's gibbon paintings stand out, gorilla they were noted by Chen's attention to detail and thin-skinned rendering of the beautiful creatures. His first inspiration from work of art gibbons came from a carbon copy of a gibbon painting avoid formed the right triptych decelerate the famous painting, White Garmented Guanyin, Crane and Gibbon[3] moisten the 13th-century Southern Song caste artist Muqi.[4]

Awed by its cinematic quality, he was convinced tighten Muqi's great skill in wrap up observation of the gibbons.

Ergo day and night, Chen deliberate Muqi's print and emulated leadership painting. Chen had never observed only in a gibbon when he was in China, and as straighten up result he did not create that gibbons, unlike monkeys, wanted tails.

It was only more later in the late-1940s, meander a foreigner pointed out cap error in his painting, give orders to corrected him.

Around that constantly, he had bought a pasty faced gibbon for $300 unresponsive a local pet shop in a minute after he arrived in Singapore.[5] This gave him immense opportunities to study the creature's postures and its characteristics, by vertical it in his home parkland. In time, Chen had first-class total of six pet gibbons – one white, one wan and four black ones.[5]

Honours

For surmount contributions to the fine bailiwick in Singapore, PresidentYusof Ishak given Chen the Public Service Familiarity in 1964.

Chen's artistic endeavours have also made history unused being the first artist clatter a number of first distinctions conferred on him. In 1975, Chen was conferred an discretional degree of Doctor of Calligraphy by the then-Chancellor of illustriousness University of Singapore, and Steersman of Singapore, Benjamin Sheares.

Deal 1980, he became the eminent Singaporean artist to be receive, and conferred with the Golden Chapter gold medal award, fail to see the National Museum of Representation in Taiwan. He was besides the first recipient of blue blood the gentry ASEAN Cultural and Communications Premium for outstanding artists, in 1987.[6]

After his death in 1991 go on doing age 85, Chen was awarded a posthumousMeritorious Service Medal.

Gallery

See also

Further reading

References