Chen Wen Hsi

Born:

1906 - 1991

Place:

China

Category:

Nanyang

Senior

SOLO EXHIBTIONS

HONOURS/AWARDS

1964 | Conferred the Public Service Star by President Yusof Ishak of Singapore for his contribution to the fine arts
1975 | Honorary degree of ‘Doctor of Letters’
1987 | ASEAN Cultural and Communications Award for Outstanding Artists

EDUCATION

1928 | Shanghai Academy
1930 | Xinhua College of Art in Shanghai

First-generation Singapore artist and a seminal pioneer of the Nanyang style.
Enrolled in the Shanghai College of Fine Arts in 1928. Two years later, he transferred to the Xinhua Academy of Fine Arts in Shanghai, where he met Chong Chen Swee and Liu Kang. They, along with Cheong Soo Pieng and Georgette Chen would eventually become the pioneers of the Nanyang style
He established his art practice upon graduation, holding four solo exhibitions in Shanghai to much critical acclaim
Cheong Soo Pieng’s style has evolved along with his geographical traverse across the globe. In 1952, his historic trip to Bali alongside fellow artists Chen Chong Swee, Liu Kang and Cheong Soo Pieng resulted in fresh inspiration, a wealth of visual sources and shift in style
Post-Bali, Chen began working more in oil and ink, and his paintings showed influences of analytical Cubism and Fauvism, featuring the former’s flat, patterned renderings based on life and Fauvism’s non-naturalistic, exuberant colours which vividly expressed the colourful vibrance and exoticism of South East Asia. His Western and traditional; Chinese influences also began to merge seamlessly, resulting in artworks with a more distinctive voice
Chen passed away in 1991, leaving behind his artistic legacy in the practice of Singapore artists, and on the back of the Singapore $50 note, where a portion of his work Two Gibbons Amidst Vines is printed

AUCTIONS

2012 May | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Pigeons, c.1975-80 | Ink and colour on rice paper mounted on scroll, (135 x 68.3 cm), RM 48, 400

2012 Sept | KLAS Art Auction | Untitled, undated | Chinese ink on rice paper (26 x 36 cm), RM 8, 250

2012 Dec | KLAS Art Auction | Two Ducks, undated | Ink on paper (33.5 x 43.5 cm), RM 16, 500

2013 April | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Two Herons, c. early 1980s | Ink and colour on rice paper (35 x 45.5 cm), RM 47, 040

2013 April | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Sparrows 麻雀, 1969 | Ink and colour on rice paper (33 x 44 cm), RM 26, 880

2013 Jun | The Edge Auction | Egrets | Chinese ink on rice paper, c.1970’s (69cm x 45cm), RM 66,000

2013 Sept| KLAS Art Auction | Four Gibbons, undated | Chinese ink and watercolour on paper (94 x 60 cm), RM 36, 300

2013 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Two Gibbons, undated | Ink and colour on rice paper (33 x 43 cm), RM 41, 800

2013 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Egrets with Flowers, c. 1980s | Ink and colour on rice paper (62 x 44 cm), RM 55, 000

2013 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Swimming Ducks, 1979 | Ink and colour on rice paper mounted on scroll (69 x 45 cm), RM 88, 000

2013 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Egrets, undated | Ink on rice paper mounted on scroll (139 x 72 cm), RM 110, 000

2013 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Gibbons looking for fish, undated | Ink and colour on rice paper (141 x 73 cm), RM 126, 500

2013 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Ducks, undated | Ink and colour on rice paper mounted on scroll (124 x 55 cm), RM 62, 700

2013 Nov | Masterpiece Singapore | Chinese ink on rice paper (34cm x 44.5cm), RM25,249

2013 Nov | Masterpiece Singapore | Chinese ink on rice paper (130cm x 33cm), RM63,123

2013 Nov | Masterpiece Singapore | Chinese ink on rice paper (74cm x 42.5cm), RM50,499

2013 Nov | Masterpiece Singapore | Chinese ink on rice paper (66cm x 42cm), RM37,874

2013 Nov | Masterpiece Singapore | Chinese ink on rice paper (69cm x 35cm), RM37,874

2014 April | KLAS Art Auction | Three Gibbons, undated | Chinese ink and watercolour on paper (76 x 49 cm), RM 24, 200

2014 June | Masterpiece Malaysia | Coloured ink on chinese paper (34.5cm x 45cm), RM 31,360

2014 June | Masterpiece Malaysia | Ink on chinese rice paper ( 71 x 31cm), RM19,040

2014 June | Masterpiece Malaysia | Coloured ink on chinese paper ( 67 x 44cm), RM61,600

2014 June | Masterpiece Malaysia | Coloured ink on rice paper ( 38 x 50cm), RM 20,160

2014 June | Masterpiece Malaysia | Chinese ink on rice paper (90 x 60cm) , RM 112,000

2014 Sept | KLAS Art Auction | Gibbons, undated | Chinese ink and watercolour on paper (69 x 75.5 cm), RM 56, 000

2014 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Bird and Pomegranate, undated | Ink and colour on rice paper (34 x 45 cm), RM 39, 200

2014 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Five Goldfishes, 1972 | Ink and colour on rice paper (44 x 33.5 cm), RM 33, 600

2014 Nov | Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers | Two Sparrows, 1972 | Ink and colour on rice paper (44 x 33.5 cm), RM 22, 400

2014 Nov | Christie’s Asian 20th Century Art Day Sale | Ink and colour on paper (138 x 69 cm), RM221,993

2014 Nov | Christie’s Asian 20th Century Art Day Sale | Ink and colour on paper (diameter: 43 cm), RM77,620

2014 Nov | Christie’s Asian 20th Century Art Day Sale | Ink and colour on paper (84 x 43 cm), RM61,011

2014 Nov | Christie’s Asian 20th Century Art Day Sale | four Chinese ink and colour on paper (each: 33 x 44 cm), RM133,196

2015 Mar | The Edge Auction | Three Gibbons | Chinese ink, undated (69cm x 45cm), RM 46,200

2015 Jun | 33 Auction Modern and Contemporary Art| Sorting the Day’s | Undated | Oil on board (59cm x 49cm), USD $127,500

2015 May | Christie’s Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art | Still Life | Undated | Oil on board (40cm x 47cm), USD $153,400

2015 May | Christie’s Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art | Gibbons at Play, two seals of the artist | Undated | Ink and colour on paper (120cm x 69cm), USD $88,687

2015 May | Christie’s Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art | Herons | c.1980 | Ink & colour pigment on paper (96cm x 93cm), USD $71,530

2015 Oct| Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Art| Gibbons at Play | undated | Ink & colour on paper (168.5cm x 93cm), USD $304,440

2015 Oct | Sotheby’s Hong Kong Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | Kampung Scene | oil on canvas (60.5cm x 51cm), RM 568,864.78 (USD 141,934.10)

2015 Oct | Sotheby’s Hong Kong Modern & Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | Squirrels | ink and colour on paper (61cm x 64cm), RM 80,804.64 (USD 20,161.09)

2015 Nov| Christie’s Hong Kong Convergences: A Special Sale of Singapore Art | Five Gibbons on a Tree | ink and colour on paper (139cm x 69cm), RM 765,328.31 (USD 190,952.56)

2015 Nov | Christie’s Hong Kong Convergences: A Special Sale of Singapore Art | Boats by the River, c. 1940s | ink and colour on paper (28.3cm x 37.6cm), RM 77,567.06 (USD 19,353.30)

2015 Nov | Christie’s Hong Kong Convergences: A Special Sale of Singapore Art | Market Scene, one seal of the artist | ink on paper (55cm x 37cm), RM 71,103.16 (USD 17,740.53)

2015 Nov | Christie’s Hong Kong Convergences: A Special Sale of Singapore Art | Assembling | ink and colour on paper (136cm x 69cm), RM 982,516.08 (USD 245,141.80)

2015 Nov | Christie’s Hong Kong Convergences: A Special Sale of Singapore Art | Fishing Village, c. 1950s | oil on masonite board (61cm x 76cm),RM452,474.51 (USD 112,894.25)

2015 Nov | Christie’s Hong Kong Convergences: A Special Sale of Singapore Art | Fishing Village, c. late 1950s – 1960s | ink and colour on paper (96.5cm x 34cm), RM 258,556.86 (USD 64,511)

2015 Nov | Christie’s Hong Kong Convergences: A Special Sale of Singapore Art | Sea Palace, c. late 60s – early 70s | oil on canvas (80cm x 100cm), RM 2,626,937.72 (USD 655,431.76)

2015 Nov | Bonhams Hong Kong Fine Chinese Paintings | Gibbons | ink and colour on paper, mounted (37cm x 43cm), RM 59,468.56 (USD 14,837.65)

2016 Apr | Sotheby’s Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art | Gibbons | ink and color on paper | 177cm x 95cm, RM 387,642.15 (USD 96,718.31)

2016 Apr | Sotheby’s Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Asian Art Evening Sale | The Worker, 1950 | oil on board (60.5cm x 76cm), RM 1,281,753.63 (USD 319,802.80)